


Another Chance

by sumChick



Series: Snowflake Blossoms [2]
Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Angst, Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fanart, Fluff, M/M, Resurrection, Romance, confusing reality and dreams, fighting through death, lots of bad stuff, physical pain/comfort, still no promises :P, this one will likely have a happy ending, will get better
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-02
Updated: 2017-08-12
Packaged: 2018-05-17 20:16:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5884090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sumChick/pseuds/sumChick
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack died for Bunny. Now he has a chance to live again and he's taking it. It won't be easy. He might not make it, but he'll keep fighting. He'll always fight for Bunny.</p><p>Aster can't help but feel hollow after Jack's death. There's an emptiness there that he cant fill with anything else. The only solace he finds are in his dreams, where he can hold Jack again. Even if it's only for a little while.</p><p> </p><p>Sequel to 'All Consuming'<br/>Story told from both Jack and Bunny's perspectives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Exhaustion

**Author's Note:**

> Woot! Finally got first part finished! Ok, same rules as the last one for any who've read it. Each chapter will be one part Jack and one part Bunny.
> 
> In Bunny's part it'll tell us how long it's been since Jack's death just to tie it all in.
> 
> Comments are much appreciated and so are kudos but honestly I just hope any who read this enjoy it. :) Thanks for clicking on my story! Enjoy!
> 
> Also for the last story, Aster's final perspective occurs nine months after the final battle. This is set before that, only four weeks after the battle. Sorry if I didn't make that clear :)

***Jack Frost***  
Jack Frost was an ice spirit before he died.

He was in fact, the Winter King, Seasonal Ruler of Winter. Before he died.

He’d even had a chance to become a Guardian, one of the big four! Or five, as it would have been with him. Before he died.

Jack had also gained he love of one Easter Bunny, the Guardian of Hope and all around Aussie badass. Before he died.

Of course a that was doing him a whole lot of good, now he was actually dead. Jack shook his sweat soaked hair out of his eyes and reached up with a shaky hand.

“I fucking hate this place.” He breathed out roughly as he managed to grab his next point of purchase. He was tired, no, not just tired he quickly corrected himself, he was _exhausted_. There wasn’t a part of him that wasn’t bruised and there were cuts along his legs, feet and hands. For once in his life he’d wished he wore shoes. Jack was wearing the same clothes he had died in. A light blue, knitted sweater that hugged his chest. It sat low on his hips over the top of his pants and would be low over his hands but he’d rolled it up to his elbows earlier when he’d started to climb. His pants were loose and fell just below his knees where springy elastic kept them tight to his calves. They’d once been white. Now after ages of the mind numbing task before him they were covered in grit, grime and blood. Random splashes of dirty brown with a couple of bloody highlights where he’d carelessly wiped his hands. Beautiful, very artistic. They were starting to look like a Jackson Pollock painting. 

Jack didn’t even know how long he’d been climbing. It could have been hours; it could have been days. The sky never changed. It could have even been weeks.

He swore loudly as one of his hands slipped on yet another sharp rock and this time one of his fingernails was torn back. Jack was too high and in too precarious position to allow himself a moment to deal with the pain, he pushed on. Leaving bloody smears on the rock surface as he forced himself to climb. The air was hot and dry. The sky was oddly dark as though caught in a kind of twilight but it was a sickly brown color. There was no cool breeze. Without his staff he couldn’t make one. He couldn’t fly either, he had to climb. And keep climbing.

Jack grit his teeth and forced himself through the pain. He was pretty sure that his fingers were cut straight through to the bone and it was only pure determination that allowed him to grip anymore. He was actually a little surprised whenever his shaking arms managed to pull him up just a little further. The slope was steep and sharp. Brown and grey rocks with sharp jagged edges with just enough loose gravel between them to become dangerously slippery if he missed his next hold.

Still, he manages. Hand after hand, hold after hold, cut after cut. One of his feet slips slightly and he feels a razor sharp rock cut right between the biggest toes on his left foot. He grunts in pain but even though the added blood makes the climb even more treacherous he continues. He can’t give up now.

Beside him, floating along, was his guide. A little girl called Hollyweather Overland. Her friends called her Holly. She was Jack’s guide through death. Couldn’t be more than seven years old with long brown hair and big brown eyes. Her fringe hung over one of her eyes slightly and parted on the side. A light dusting of freckles dotted her slightly tanned skin. She wore a faded brown dress and little brown boots and had no trouble at all navigating the mountain he was climbing. Apparently she didn’t have to climb the mountain, having accepted her own death centuries ago.

Sparing a glance at her before reaching up for his next hold Jack figured his initial assessment had been correct. Holly looked as though she belonged in the 1700’s with her old fashioned clothes. Jack may or may not have been feeling a little resentful that he had to climb like this while his guide floated lazily along beside him. 

Jack shook his sweaty hair out of his eyes and forced himself to keep climbing. No, he couldn’t think that way. He’d chosen to try and live again. She’d long since chosen to accept her death. Besides, he wouldn’t wish this pain on anyone. Except perhaps the former Nightmare King. Oh yeah. Jack would love to see him struggling through this. Of course he kind of hoped he wouldn’t because that would mean the bastard was trying to live again as well. Hopefully he’d accept death with better grace than Jack had.

According to Holly only the dead who met a specific set of requirements could attempt to climb out of the underworld in order to live again. Jack was steadily working his way up through the first layer of death, the Mountains of Doubt. It was a torturous climb that led to the next layer and Jack would have to pass through quite a few in order to get out of his Contract with Death. The Mountains of Doubt were here to weed out any that weren’t strong enough for the other layers. Holly wasn’t allowed to tell him what came after but if it was any harder than this mountains, he thought to himself as his bloody hand slipped on another rock, then he really didn’t want to know. Just keep concentrating on the path at hand. One hand in front of the other. Just keep climbing.

Ignoring the pain of yet another cut he pulled himself up to a ledge, finally! A ledge! It was only just big enough for Jack to curl up on but he wasn’t complaining. With a groan he crawled up and curled around his broken hands. They hurt so badly that they burned, so did his feet and legs but his hands bore the worst of it. They were tattered and bloody and ridiculously painful.

“It’s safe to rest here.” Holly confirmed, she sat with her legs hanging over the ledge. “You’ve done really well. Most people give up by now. I wish I could do more to help.” Holly seemed to understand that Jack wasn’t in the right frame of mind to speak so she chatted absently about things that Jack couldn’t understand.

He was so exhausted that he could barely make out a thing she was saying but her soft voice was very soothing. Jack passed into a deep, exhaustion filled sleep. He began to dream.

***E. Aster Bunnymund***  
**Four Weeks**  
Four weeks. It had been four weeks since the final battle with Pitch. Four weeks since his life became the hollow empty thing it was now. Aster was functioning on autopilot. He’d helped North clean the workshop, Tooth clean her castle and finally cleaned his warren. He couldn’t fight it anymore, he was physically and emotionally drained.

Looking around his warren with blank eyes he tried to find something to keep him busy. Anything to keep him busy. He didn’t want to sleep. He didn’t want to dream. Aster thought about Jack constantly. There wasn’t a moment when the former Winter King wasn’t on his mind. He thought of the moments they’d spent together. He thought about the moments they would never have. He thought about how Jack had sacrificed himself to save a selfish and obnoxious Pooka who had never even given him the time of day. There was a part of the old Pooka that wanted to push Jack from his mind to spare himself the pain but after neglecting Jack for 300 years he couldn’t stomach to do that to him now. Even if Jack wasn’t alive to appreciate it.

He should have been stronger.

Jack should still be alive.

Aster really didn’t want to sleep. He thought about heading to his burrow to look at Jack’s staff but dismissed the thought quickly. It would be too painful. As exhaustion wore him down his mind became a strange grey mix of incomplete thoughts and he knew that sleep was going to win this battle. He was just so tired of fighting…

He fell to the ground and curled up in the grass pitifully. He didn’t care if he was acting like a kit without his Dam. The other Guardians didn’t understand. They knew that Jack and Aster had started something but it was so new and so brief. They thought that it would be easier to recover because of that but it wasn’t. It just meant they’d lost so much more. Aster had seen a future with Jack. Now that future was gone. Sandy was the most understanding, he knew both Jack and Aster better than the others. He’d lived as long as Aster. Sanderson didn’t understand exactly… but he was still closer than the others.

He fights back his sobs, his pitiful whines, his desperate tears. Not now. He just wants to lose himself. Aster hopes his sleep will be empty, dreamless. The Nightmare King may be dead and gone but that didn’t mean there weren’t nightmares in the world anymore. They just had a new boss.

Aster closes his eyes and struggles not to focus on the pain or the emptiness of being left behind. He tries to find hope… He isn’t surprised when he finds none. After what feels like hours of lying in his grief he finally passes into slumber.

The pass from reality into dream was seamless.

When Aster rose feeling marginally better than when he’d lay down to sleep he assumed that he’d woken up. He was in his warren, out in the grass, just where he’d fallen asleep. He sat up and rubbed his eyes with a tired grumble. He didn’t feel perfect but he felt a little better. But something seemed off.

His ears twisted to and fro and he was instantly up and alert as his nose twitched while scenting the area. There was something here that shouldn’t be. Or rather _someone_.

Without hesitation Aster took off towards the intrusion. He was not at all prepared for what he found.

The sound that he heard was actually the pained whimpering of a person lying in the grass field near the paint river. The scent was the person’s blood. A small person in a blue shirt, with pale skin and white hair. The person in the grass groaned slightly in pain and tried to shift around probably trying to get more comfortable. Aster was frozen a few meters away. He wanted to move forward. He wanted to run away. This was not possible. This person couldn't be here. Aster started to shake, clutching the fur at his chest to try hold himself together.

He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know what to think.

In Aster’s heightened emotional state, it was easy for his instincts to take over.

The figure on the ground gave another little noise of pain and with the scent of his blood in the air and Aster’s instincts kicked into overdrive.

“Jack!” He bounded forward and closed the distance between them quickly. His mate was in pain! He had to fix it! “Jack.” He whined softly as Jack turned to him with his mouth open in a little ‘o’ of surprise.

“Bunny?!” He gasped out. The frost spirit looked startled and as quickly as he could he clutched his hands to his chest and rolled away from Bunny and curled around himself. Using his back to shield his injuries from Aster’s gaze. “No! No, no, no! You’re not supposed to be here like this!” Jack whined as he clutched his hands to himself. Aster couldn’t see much but they were clearly covered in blood along with his legs and feet. “ _I’m_ not supposed to be here like this!” He hissed the last part seemingly in pain and irritation.

Aster let out a mournful keen, his mate didn’t want him?

The noise grabbed Jack’s attention and glancing over his shoulder at the Pooka he let out a soft noise. “Oh Bunny no. I didn’t mean it like that I just… It’s my pain. It’s my price. I… I know this is just a dream but I still feel like I have to do it on my own. I don’t want you to suffer too.”

A dream, of course this was a dream. That little bit of logic didn’t lift Aster’s natural protectiveness however. It was very quickly processed and decided in his mind that it didn’t matter if this was only a dream. Jack was here. If this was all he got, then he would take it. Jack was still in pain, dream or not, that had to come first.

This Jack, just like the real one, was asking to bear his pain alone. It broke Aster’s heart and pissed him off all at once.

“You’ve got a bloody screw loose mate! You thinking living without you or just ignoring your pain doesn’t make me suffer too? Should I just walk away right now? And not feel pain? You’re bloody bonkers if you think I could.” Aster snapped grumpily. “Now show me your hands!” So he didn’t have the best bedside manner. This was his dream he could be as grumpy as he liked!

Jack gaped, his mouth opening and closing reminiscent of some kind of fish out of water. It would have been funny if it wasn’t for the wince of pain and the way he clenched his jaw when he moved to try not to let it out. He was clearly in agony. As Jack revealed his injuries Aster had to fight down his horror. It was worse than he thought. Much worse.

His hands… they’re shredded down to the bone! Aster has to fight his nausea. They look like they’ve been put through a meat grinder and the cuts are filled with black dirt and grime. The scent of infected flesh is strong in the air and Jack looks as though he might have a fever. His once white pants are covered in red and brown smears. His feet are in not better shape with deep cuts on his soles, between his toes and all over his lower legs. Jack has blood trailing up his face and in his hair, looking like he’d wiped his fringe out of his eyes with bloodied hands. How he can even move them while they’re in this state Aster will never know. Most of the blood seems to be stemming from a deep, jagged cut on one of Jack’s wrists. He’s also covered in bruises. Quickly assessing the damage with a critical eye he makes a mental note of what he’ll need.

“Wait here Snowflake, I’ll be right back.” Jack nods his acknowledgement and Aster takes off as fast as his legs will carry him. He heads to his burrow in the warren. His home is a burrow in the side of a hill similar to how the Hobbit homes had been depicted in the Tolkien novels. He had actually been quite surprised reading ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Hobbit’ books to find his house described in near perfect detail. He crashes through the round door that leads into his home and without any preamble bolts to a room in the back where he keeps ointments and medical supplies. He couldn’t bring Jack here; he can’t move him when he’s not quite sure about the severity of the injuries. Right now he had to stop the bleeding and tend to his hands or Jack might actually lose them. Aster isn’t sure how bad the infection is but it smelled terrible and looked even worse. He’d have to ask Jack how he got them when he had the chance but treating him came first.

Digging through cupboards and shelves he was throwing anything he didn’t need aside haphazardly. Most of his ointments were out of date, he’d have to make more soon. He managed to find clean bandages and towels, a medical sewing kit, ointments to ease pain and infection, and some mild soap that was good for cleaning open wounds. On his way out of the house he managed to stuff everything he’d grabbed in an old duffel that North had given him one Christmas. Swinging the duffel over his shoulder he leapt back out to find Jack without even closing his door. He found Jack again in less than a minute, curled back around his injuries. While he was laying it gave Aster a moment to see the damage to the soles of his feet and he had to fight down a retch when he noticed they were deeper than he’d originally thought. Some cut as deep as bone. This wasn’t going to be easy.

He carefully approached Jack nuzzling and sniffing at his hair, enjoying his fresh scent even if it was tainted with blood. 

“Bunny?” Jack sounded weak.

“Yeah Jack, I’m here. I’m going to have to pick you up ok? I can’t clean your wounds here.” When Jack grunted what Aster could only assume what was approval the Pooka lifted him as gently as he could. He wasn’t going far, there was a fresh water spring just a way down from the paint river. Like all the fresh flowing water in the warren it had many natural healing properties which would help Jack recover.

He walked slowly and carefully with Jack in his arms. Jack was so light and so fragile feeling. It was hard to imagine that this was the same body that had taken down the Nightmare King. Aster closed his eyes briefly before opening them. No, this wasn’t the same. But it didn’t matter. Right now Jack was here, in his arms. Injuries and all he was just glad to see him again. Even if it was only in his mind.

He gently places Jack in the soft grass at the edge of the spring and quickly opens his bag to set down everything he’d need on the ground next to Jack.

Jack looks at him with interested but slightly dazed eyes. Not that Aster could blame him for being a bit out of it. The front of his shirt was practically soaked in blood. Aster sets to work, using the water from the spring and his gentle soap to first clean his wounds before setting to work, stitching, bandaging and applying ointment where necessary.

It takes hours and by the time he’s finished he’s covered in Jack’s blood. At least it wasn’t sand this time, he thought grimly as he cleaned his hands and dumped the used and bloody towels a little bit away from Jack. Heading back to the teenager he considers taking Jack’s clothes to wash (even though they clearly need replacing) but a strange twist in his gut and he decides against it. Aster approaches Jack and very gently wraps clean, fluffy town around him so that he’s more comfortable. He doesn’t have a problem with nudity but he doesn’t want to see Jack’s chest. The arrow that pierced his heart and tainted his body with nightmare sand… He can’t stand the thought of seeing what his chest looks like now. Would it be scarred? Would it still be iced over? Would it be shattered in thousands of jagged pieces while Jack’s heart tries to beat against it? No. No he can’t… He just can’t.

“Thank you.” Jack whispers quietly from his fluffy prison.

Aster lets out a breath. This has been the most exhausting sleep he has ever had. “Glad to do it.” He answered honestly and laid down next to Jack. He’d checked him thoroughly and apart from the cuts he had no other injuries. Thank El-Ahrairah there were no broken bones.

Jack shuffles forward a bit in a comical fashion, all rugged up and wriggling, so that he rests pressed up against Aster’s side. Aster carefully wraps an arm around him and Jack lets out a little hum of approval. “You’re warm.”

“How on earth did you manage to do this to yourself?” The question is out of Aster’s mouth before his tired mind can even begin to filter it. It comes out a lot brusquer than he intended it to.

Either Jack doesn’t notice or his doesn’t care because he answers, “Climbing mountains without gloves or shoes. Seemed like a good idea at the time.”

Aster huffs. “You don’t say. Couldn’t just fly over?”

“Not without my staff.”

Aster tenses up. The staff… The broken pieces are in the burrow but he hadn’t even thought about bringing them to Jack. Should he?

“It’s ok. I mean it’s hard and it kinda sucks but I have to do it this way. I think if I don’t suffer it won’t be worth anything. Like if I can’t prove that I can overcome this then I haven’t earned it? I guess?” Jack muses mostly to himself. “Besides I kind of hoped you’d keep the staff. Have a piece of me with you… Wow that sounded lame.” Jack finished with a little self-deprecating laugh.

“No. It’s not. I kept it.” Aster speaks softly. He also kept the clothes Jack died in. Safe, deep within his burrow. “I treasure it.”

Jack leans up on his elbows, being careful with his hands, and looks down at Aster with a smile. “Good.” He kisses Aster’s nose softly. “I think it’s time for me to go…” Jack looks unsure but Aster can feel a kind of pulling sensation. Like he’s being moved away from Jack even though he’s still laying on the ground.

“No! Jack I-” Aster whines pitifully.

“Hey there Cottontail,” Jack shushes him playfully before giving him a kiss. “See you in another dream.”

“I love you Jack.”

“Love you too ‘Roo.” With a strange, knowing twinkle in his eyes Jack whispers something more but Aster can’t quite make it out as the dream fades.

And then Aster starts awake back on the ground in his warren. Laying in the grass without the scent of Jack or blood anywhere around him. Alone. Again.

Aster curls around himself even tighter and not caring about appearances or how shameful it makes him feel he wails and sobs like a newborn kit. He felt like he’d lost Jack all over again. He had him here, in his arms! He’d tended his wounds and comforted him and now…

Dreams don’t last.

Aster doesn’t know why he tries to convince himself otherwise.


	2. It's not a nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack reaches the top, Aster has another dream.

***Jack Frost***  
Jack woke slowly. It felt like climbing a mountain in of itself. He almost didn’t want to wake up. His dream had been so real, so vivid… There was a part of him that wanted to just go back to sleep and stay with his dream Bunny. He shook himself awake and forced himself to rise. No! He wouldn’t be that weak. The Bunny in his dreams had been too thin, too weighed down by grief and tiredness. If the real Bunny even looked half that bad, then he couldn’t give up. Bunny needed him, he could feel it. 

He wasn’t going to give up now!

He pushed himself up with rising determination. Nothing in this realm would be strong enough to stop Jack from coming back to life now. He died for Bunny. He would much rather live for him. Jack is many things but a quitter isn’t one of them.

Jack managed to sit up with relative ease, his pain felt more like a distant ache now instead of the unbearable burning from before. He looked down at his hands with furrowed brows and nearly cried out in shock. They were… better… A lot better. Unnaturally better. The deepest cuts seemed to have healed enough to have closed over and the littler ones were all but gone. It didn’t even look like he was going to scar. He looked down at his legs and feet only to find the same phenomenon. Mostly healed, with only a little residual pain. He knew he healed fast but this was ridiculous.

He looked over to Holly.

She hadn’t seemed to have noticed that he was awake yet and was sitting on the edge of their little outcropping of rock, staring out at the featureless sky.

She seemed so lost in thought that Jack thought it best not to disturb her. Besides, this was anything but a bad thing. Maybe this is normal for dead immortal spirits? Yeah, dead immortal. Figure that one out. Apparently that’s what gave him the chance to do this. He was immortal and thus not meant to die. Pitch had shifted the balance in the world. It wasn’t unheard of; immortals being killed by others of their kind. That’s why this little loophole existed at all.

Looking back down at his hands he gave a quiet little huff. So that’s what that dream was all about. The pain and the healing had felt so real. Jack guessed that apart from Bunny it actually was. He must have been healing in his sleep and his subconscious gave him a happy healing Bunny dream. Nice. Should get hurt more often.

…

No, Jack doesn’t want to go down that road. Besides, no time to. He has a mountain to climb.

“Morning.” Jack shuffled up so that he was sitting beside his guide. Looking down he grimaced at the state his clothes were in. The front of his shirt was covered in blood and his pants were just plain disgusting.

“Oh Jack!” Holly gave a little start. “Good morning, did you sleep well?”

Jack rolled his shoulders and stretched a little. Letting out a yawn while Holly giggled.

“Good. I was worried.” She smiled up at him with those large chocolate eyes of hers. 

God she looked like Jamie. “I’m fine and ready to go. You ready?”

When she nods he assent Jack rises to his feet and looks back up the jagged rocks he had to climb. He could totally do this. Piece of jagged, palm lacerating cake.

He started his climb. At first it was easy. Even after his first couple of cuts it was still easy. After his first little slide and when he had to climb up the same stretch that he had before with all the good handholds covered in fresh, slippery blood… Now that was a little more difficult. But despite the pain, the blood, the slipping and doing it all over again, Jack did not give up. Jack did not lose hope.

He cut his hand and he climbed. He slashed his foot and he climbed. He tore off fingernails, toenails, managed to get a cut on his neck that curved down to his shoulder and he kept going. Nothing was going to stop him from reaching his goal. Time, the insubstantial thing that it was, passed by him in a strange sort of blur. The sky never changed. The same dull brown with just enough light so that he could see the dull brown path ahead of him.

This time when he saw another ledge he didn’t stop. He kept going. He wasn’t going to stop until he reached the top. With that goal in mind he pushed through his pain and after what felt like an eternity he finally crested the mountain.

He groaned and flopped onto the hard, compacted dirt ground. He rolled in the flat dirt, hugged it, kissed it and Holly giggled.

“You probably shouldn’t do that. It’s kind of dirty.”

“Dirt is supposed to be dirty.” He mumbled. He was now face down in the stuff and he’d never been so relieved to be in a barren dirty field in his entire life.

Holly walked up to him and sat down beside his head. “Congratulations. You’ve successfully scaled the Mountains of Doubt. The opening of your Contract is complete, once you pass this place there’s no going back.” The last part is spoken almost wistfully. “Well I can come back. I’m your guide ‘till the end.”

Jack gave her a tired little smile. “Yeah, sleep now?” Very articulate sleep Jack was. Want sleep for goodness… Jack yawned.

“Of course. Rest now, we’ll get started again when you wake up.”

***E. Aster Bunnymund***  
 **five weeks**

One week later and Aster still hadn’t managed to fall back to sleep. He’d tried. He’d laid down in his nest for three whole days. When that didn’t work he’d retreated out into his field in the same spot he’d fallen asleep last time. He only lasted a day there before going to the spot where he’d found Jack in his dream. After another two days of snuggling deep into clean grass without the scent of Jack he couldn’t stand it any longer. He was too full of energy. He needed to find a way to work it out of his system in order to fall back to sleep.

Then maybe, just maybe, he’d see Jack again.

He headed back to his home, not at all surprised to see the door to his burrow left wide open. That’s the second time he’s done that this week. He can’t even remember going into the burrow the first time that it happened which was a little weird. Still with how dead on his feet he’d been it wasn’t too surprising.

So, he needed something to tire himself out. Should be simple. A few moments of thinking about it and Aster decides to head to his medicine room. It was probably time to replace some of his old stores. When he steps into the room he gapes at what he finds. The room looks trashed. Completely. Ointments smashed on the floor, cupboards messy and unorganized and bandages and towels messy as though they’d been rifled through. Aster frowns. He’s been the only one in his warren. He knows that for a fact. Asleep or not he would have noticed someone else here.

It looks like someone rummaged through here in a frenzied fit in order to heal someone they cared about.

Aster started to laugh, it was small at first, but soon bloomed into a full-hearted, manic laughing fit. He laughed so hard his sides hurt and tears streamed down his fur. It wasn’t a happy sound. It was a broken sound. A desperate sound. It sounded like pain.

That dream had been too real. The feel of the grass under his paws. The scent of blood in the air. The weight of Jack in his arms. 

He was going crazy. He imagined Jack being here and managed to raid his own medical stores in order to help a hallucination. He was going crazy and his hysterical laughter was further proving his point.

He shook himself and stopped laughing when his face became numb. He took a few breaths to steady himself. At least he had something to do now.

It took nearly a full day to organize his med-room and sort out what he needed to replace. After cleaning the room and throwing out anything that had expired and cataloguing what he had left, he realized he needed a lot more than he thought he did. Aster wasn’t tired enough to sleep yet so he decided he may as well get started. It takes another three days of running all over his warren and popping out into the world to gather the materials he needs to prepare more ointments and salves. By the time he’s finished with his worldwide forage he is too exhausted to even bother starting. He stores his ingredients safely and manages to trudge into his room and collapse in his nest. It smells musty and probably needs to be cleaned.

He'll do it in the morning.

He closes his eyes.

He opens his eyes. He’s in his nest. Aster sits up slowly and once again he can feel a ‘wrongness’ in the warren. The sort of feeling he only gets when there’s an intruder.

Without hesitation he leaps out of bed and bounds off to find him. It has to be him, please let it be him.

Aster finds a small, grubby, blood covered figure back out in the field next to the paint river.

Jack hears him approach and turns over to look at him with a smile. “Bunny! Fancy seeing you here.” He jokes with a pained smile.

“Jack!” This time his dream self is prepared. Aster prepared all he could possibly need in his old duffle before going to sleep. It seemed to work because it was next to his bed when he’d ‘woken up’ in his dream.

It takes little time to move Jack over to the spring where he tends his wounds. It’s worse today but Jack seemed to be handling it better. Aster wonders if this will be a usual thing as he cleans up after treating Jack.

“Don’t worry, I reached the top today.” Jack answers Aster’s unspoken question. “I don’t know what’s next but hopefully it won’t be this bad.” He lifted up his bandaged hands a little.

This time Jack’s propped up against a wide tree trunk with fluffy towels to support him. When Aster finishes scrubbing his hands he takes a seat by Jack’s side. Jack leans into him automatically and it makes Aster smile as he curls an arm around the skinny teenager. Was Jack always so tiny?

“So no more climbing then?”

Jack huffed. “Not like that anyway. Not sure what the rest will be like.”

Aster nods even though he has no idea. “Dreams aren’t meant to be this tiring.” He comments idly and Jack laughs.

“No, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. All things considered I don’t think this is a nightmare, do you?”

“Nah, mate. Definitely not.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't expect all updates this quickly, classes will be swamping me soon enough :)


	3. Missing pieces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack speaks with Holly and Death. Aster meets Jamie for the first time after Jack's death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a lot of talking. Its going to get more involved from the next chapter onwards.

***Jack Frost***  
Jack wanted to launch himself into his dream Bunny’s arms. Jack wanted to kiss his dream Bunny with the passion of a thousand fiery suns. Jack was also severely exhausted and was more than a little woozy due to the near constant blood loss he’d suffered for the past… however long it was. All he managed in his dream was to curl up into Bunny’s side and just enjoy the feeling of having him by his side.

He woke up soon after.

Back to the dirty field. Lovely.

He sits up slowly and again finds that his cuts have almost completely healed. Nice. His clothes however are grubby, torn and completely covered in dirt and blood. Not so nice. Hopefully he’ll get a chance to replace them soon. Or at all. He’s not quite sure how that works in this place. He was dying for a shower… Jack smirked.

Holly is by his side in an instant, she helps him rise to his feet. She looks at his hands and feet and seems a little surprised but she doesn’t question it so Jack doesn’t either. Besides if she doesn’t know how he healed so quickly then how would he?

He brushes himself off out of habit but instead of cleaning himself off it actually spreads more dirt on his hands. He lets out a little grunt of disgust as he looks down at his dirtied hands.

Holly tries to suppress a giggle. “I’m sorry, but I did warn you about the dirt.”

Jack shrugs and smiles a little himself. “I was just so glad to be off that mountain, so what’s next?”

Holly frowns and tips her head slightly to the side. “I’m not really sure. I think once the Contract is opened Death is meant to come here and talk to you about it… I’ve never been this far before.”

Jack stretches up and tests his limbs, tired and aching but still functional. Good enough he guesses. “So we just wait here then?” Jack looks around but in every direction it looks the same. He hadn’t even walked that far from the edge when he’d collapsed earlier so unless Holly dragged him away from it, it seems to have disappeared. No going back then. Not that he’d want to.

“Yep.” Holly puts her hands behind her back as she rocks back and forth on the balls of her feet.

Still too tired Jack decides the best possible course of action is to just sit back down on the ground. His legs crossed in front of him he leans forward on his elbows and lets out a yawn.

“You could sleep again if you want to. I’ll wake you when he comes.”

“Nah, don’t think I could sleep now if I wanted to. I’m too tired.” Holly giggles again. She has a cute giggle. It was really endearing. “You mind if I ask you some questions? About yourself I mean?” Jack asks her. They’ve been together for… Damn not being able to tell time was really getting to him. They’d been together for a while and all they’d talked about was the Contract and the mountains.

She tilts her head down at him, it seems as though she’s looking for something. She seems to find it as she nods her assent with a smile. “Sure, what would you like to know?”

“How old are you?”

“Do you mean how old do I look? Or how old I was when I died?”

Jack crossed his arms and furrowed his brow, “There’s a difference?”

Holly nodded and took a seat on the ground across from Jack. “Yes, right now I look how I looked when I was eight years old. But I actually died when I was fifty-seven.” Not a bad age a few hundred years ago, actually that was a pretty good run.

Jack snorted. “Look pretty good for your age then.”

Holly smiled. “Thanks but being dead does have some benefits. When I became your guide I chose this form to make you feel more comfortable around me.”

“But that’s not how you really look?”

She taps her bottom lip thoughtfully. “Well, not exactly. I really did look like this when I was eight.”

“So because I like hanging out with kids more you decided to be eight?”

“Something like that.” She seemed to be hiding something… but Jack decided not to pursue it. He was asking her really personal questions. Holly had been nothing but nice to him since he started this journey, he was actually really glad to have someone by his side through it all. And more than a little relieved that she could see him. That was always a plus. Jack wasn’t sure if he’d ever get used to people actually seeing him. He wondered if Jamie would be happy to see him when he got back? How much older would he be?

And again his thoughts swirled back to the screwy time in this place.

“How long have I been dead?”

Holly shrugs. “It’s hard to tell time between here and there. Time works differently here. It could be minutes or it could be years… Some of the spirits more in tune with death can tell. I’m actually a little surprised that you can’t.”

Jack’s confused, “Why?”

“Well you’re the former Winter King, winter is the season of death. You should actually know more about this realm than any of the other seasons.”

He sighed and almost rubbed a hand over his face, remembering the dirt at the last minute he glared at the appendage before lowering it. “I didn’t really accept the Mantle until the end. I was King for a few hundred years but I didn’t become one with the Mantle until right before I died.”

“Well that probably explains it then.”

Jack hums his agreement. If he’d accepted his Mantle from the beginning, would he even be in this mess? Too late now to wonder about the what ifs. He was here and he was getting out. Even if it killed him… Again. He was getting out. No other options. No hesitation.

Jack could feel his determination, and he was holding on to it tightly. He wouldn’t let go.

For Bunny. Always for Bunny.

“Oh!” Holly rose quickly, and dusting herself off she curtsied cutely, looking at a point behind Jack. “It is nice to see you again Sir.” She greeted politely.

Jack rose as well and turned to face the looming shadow that was Death. He looked… pretty much how he’d been described. A rotting, threadbare cloak hung loosely over the hunched over frame of Death himself. The skeleton turned to face him. His skull was gleaming white in stark contrast to his midnight robes. The bones that Death was made of were human, but sharp and oddly angled. He was tall but hunched over like he was, his eyes were level with Jack’s. Deep in his eye sockets glowed red-burgundy and it made Jack suppress a shiver. Death was quite creepy. Good thing too, Jack supposed, or there’d be more people lining up to meet him.

“Jack Frost.” The voice of Death was surprisingly strong and resonated deeply. It was a charming, almost seductive voice. Deep, dark, and frighteningly familiar. 

Jack wondered if everyone felt that way when confronting Death.

Jack bowed deeply with a flourish, slightly mocking and melodramatic but hey, that was just part of the whole ‘Jack Frost’ package. No point in taking things too seriously. “Death.” Death was one of the most powerful spirits that existed. In one way or another, everyone believed in Death.

“You have opened your Contract. Why?”

Expecting the question Jack was prepared to answer. “Nothing holds me here. There is only one thing I want and he’s up above. I died for him and I’d really like the chance to live for him.” Jack had thought this over and over again in his mind. He knew what he was doing and why he was doing it.

Death silently considered Jack’s statement. “Nothing holds you here?” Death queried quietly. He seemed about to speak again but Holly beat him to it.

“No. He wants this above anything we could offer him here. He scaled the Mountains of Doubt successfully. I want to help him, guide him, towards life and his happiness.” The girl announced resolutely, surprising both Death and Jack respectively.

“And what of his family?” Death questioned, this time peering at Holly with his glowing eye sockets.

“He has no family.” She answered quickly. Her voice seemed uncharacteristically subdued.

Silence rang out after her declaration. Death and Holly continued their strange staring contest.

It was just hedging on uncomfortable when Jack coughed and rolled his shoulders. “So… Life? Living again? What do I have to do?” He decided that a change of subject would be best.

Death turned back to Jack. “You are missing pieces. You must find them.”

“Um…” Pieces? He was missing pieces? He looked down at himself and craned his head back to try and see himself from all angles. Arms, check. Legs, check. He had all his fingers and toes. Head was still on his shoulders.

Death raised one of his sickly hands. “Not like that. Allow me to explain. How you perceive the world around you isn’t how this world actually exists. There are no physical beings here apart from Life, Judgement and myself. Even then our physical presences are largely intangible and we are only solid when we wish to be perceived as such. You however,” He points a bone finger at Jack. “Have no physical form. You see your body because your sense of Self is tied to your body and so your Soul perceives your Self as such.”

“Of course death is traumatic. Usually I am there to guide the Soul, but your body was destroyed and your Soul wrenched violently from life. When a Soul is rendered from life unexpectedly and cast down to the depths beneath Doubt it seeks familiarity and so the Self is given form. The world around you is changed to be perceived as something familiar as well. The Mountains of Doubt are not the same for you as they would be for another who crosses them, some may not see mountains at all. Doubt itself was the hurdle, which you have overcome. By overcoming Doubt, you have gained Determination. A piece that you were missing. You must find all the pieces so that you can claim a physical form and finally ascend to life. When the Soul crashes into death it leaves behind all the things that would weigh it down and slow down Judgement. By first gaining your Self you also lose most of your Self. To live you must find all the layers shed by the descent and ascend with them. Do you understand?”

Jack fidgets for a bit. “So I have to climb to find pieces that I’m missing from my Self because I died? Then I can live again?”

“Yes. The burden will be great. You do not know the weight of these pieces now, as your Self is free of them, but they will wear you down as you go on. Will you be able to carry the weight; I wonder? Or will it crush you as it has many before you? If you fail in your task, there will be nothing left of you. Your Soul could not survive being torn again, your Self will fade. You succeed or you cease to exist. Do you wish to continue?”

“Yes.”

Like there was any other choice?

***E.Aster Bunnymund***  
 **Seven Weeks**  
When Aster woke after his last dream he immediately launched himself into any task that he could. Fixing ointments and medicines, weeding the garden, digging and turning over a new field, working out, anything he could think of that would tire him out. It had been over a week and he’d lost track of time. He couldn’t fall asleep. He was a tired, barely functioning mess, but he couldn’t actually pass into sleep. He managed to doze lightly and rest fitfully but never did he sink deep enough to dream. It was frustrating the old Pooka to no end. 

He sat mindlessly with his head resting on the kitchen table and his arms hanging limply beside him while he hunched over in his seat. He’d been sitting in this same position for a few hours and his back and shoulders were really beginning to burn. Aster pondered moving but couldn’t find a single thing he wanted to move to do. So he stayed feeling slightly defeated. He could drink something to aid his sleep deprivation but he found himself hesitating. He didn’t want to be one of those people, doped up to their eyeballs just to get through the day. What would Jack think of him then?

He hadn’t had the chance to know Jack well enough to say for sure, but Aster was pretty sure that Jack would’ve knocked some sense into him with his staff if he tried anything that foolish.

Probably would have wacked him for this too. 

No, he would have thrown a snowball for this.

Aster grumbled as he pulled himself upright and stretched his aching muscles. He took off for his tunnels without really thinking about what he was doing or where he was going. Still, he wasn’t surprised at all when he ended up at Jack’s lake.

Spring was in full bloom. Trees are green and flowers glow in the sun’s gentle warmth. Bird’s sing, children laugh and Aster can’t help but feel that it’s wrong somehow. It shouldn’t be spring here. Not at Jack’s lake. It should never be spring here.

Aster knows he’s being an illogical grump but his foul mood won’t allow him to be anything else.

There are kids in the park today but none of them are expecting to see the Easter Bunny when it’s not Easter so they don’t actually see him. He sits in front of Jack’s lake with a scowl and crossed arms. He’s not sure if he loves or hates this place. It would probably be easier to tell if he could just get some sleep. 

“Hey.” Aster almost jumps out of his skin when a little body sits down next to his without him noticing. He must have been really lost in thought not to have noticed.

“Jamie, how’s it going mate?” Aster stares down at the big brown eyes that stare up at him. Jamie looks… exhausted. He’s thinner than he was seven weeks ago, paler too. He was suffering, guilt swiftly kicked Aster in the gut, he should have come here sooner. Of course the kid was upset, he’d witnessed a friend die and then turned him into Dreamsand. Aster can picture it in his mind as he turns back to the lake. The way the Nightmare that was Jack had stepped forward, accepting of its fate as Jamie touched its nose. The beautiful golden glow as the Dreamsand took over completely, the way Sandy had manipulated it to look like Jack. He closed his eyes and turned back to Jamie. His eyes were unfocused and he was staring out at the lake as well. Aster wondered if any of the other Guardians had even bothered to visit.

Aster went to open his mouth again but Jamie started to speak. “He knew me before that night you know?” He spoke quietly. “Jack had been by my side for years and I couldn’t even see him. He told me about this time I got lost when I was younger and he used the wind to guide me home. I remember it. I was lost in the forest and I was so scared. Every so often the wind would blow in my face so I’d turn and head the other way. I found my way home… because of Jack. He did so much for me and I never even realized. I can’t even thank him for it.” Jamie let out a world weary sigh. “He’s gone.”

A kid shouldn’t sound world weary. It was just… wrong.

Guilt gave him another swift kick for good measure and Aster found himself talking again. “Have you had any dreams?”

Jamie smiled a little but it was a poor imitation of the smile he’d seen seven weeks ago. “Yeah. I think Sandy’s been using Jack’s sand on me. I’ve been dreaming of snowball fights and sled rides… Jack’s always laughing by my side.”

The Dreamsand… of course… That’s what was going on. Sandy was giving him dreams with Jack in them. Aster wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. The dreams were the only thing keeping him going right now. “I have dreams with Jack too.” The Easter Bunny admitted to the boy.

Jamie smiled again.

It was kind of nice. They were partners in grief. None of the others seemed to care as much as they did. Jamie cared for different reasons than Aster but that didn’t mean the boy cared any less.

“We didn’t do anything for him, he hasn’t even had a funeral. Did the Guardians do anything?” Jamie asks and once more guilt assaults Aster’s now frail stomach.

He lowered his ears in shame. “No. He didn’t get the chance to be a Guardian so he never got a mural.” Aster spoke quietly.

“That’s-That’s not right!” Jamie cried indignantly and Aster agreed with him.

He’d been so caught up in his own grief he hadn’t even honored Jack’s sacrifice. “You’re right. I’m going to make it up to him, will you help me?”

“Do you really need to ask?” Jamie gave Aster a cheeky smile so reminiscent of one of Jack’s that he couldn’t help but smile back.


	4. Everything is the same nothing.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Holly tells Jack about her brother. Aster meets Jack in a dream but his Snowflake is fading.

***Jack Frost***  
Once Jack had acknowledged and accepted the damage to his Soul and the fact that he was only his fragmented Self, he was afforded some control over his appearance. Jack managed to make himself look completely clean and his clothes were mended as well. While he felt better he did maintain that a hot shower would have been preferable.

Death had stayed with them and guided them to the gate to the next Piece they were looking for. The gate itself looked like three oblong rocks stacked together haphazardly in the dirt, with just enough space between them for Death to fit through. There didn’t seem to be anything on the other side and Jack walked around the entire thing before shrugging and following the skeleton through. Of course the Master of the Afterlife was a busy man and Death had left them not long after in a strange looking forest clearing. It was cool, which was a nice change from the mountains, but it was oddly colored. It looked like any other forest Jack had seen but it was stuck in eternal night. The forest was shrouded in mist and all the plants were in shades of purple and dark blue. Some fungi glowed gently and really, it was all rather pretty.

Death had left them with the instructions to find the next gate, and that it wouldn’t appear until Jack had found the Piece. So they were stuck here until Jack found whatever it was they were looking for.

And he had absolutely no idea what it was.

“Why couldn’t all these things be simple like the mountains? I mean they sucked but it was all pretty straight forward.” Jack muttered as he looked at the trees around him.

Holly shrugged. “Then it wouldn’t be much of a test would it? It’s meant to _test_ you to see if you’re worthy of a second life.”

“Enough of your logic. Logic has no place while I’m ranting.” Jack grumbled but his slight smile gave away his good humor. At least this wasn’t physically painful, yet. Lack of actual physical body notwithstanding. 

They walked forward through the rough path they could see through the mist, only to end up back in the same clearing. Jack thought he must have been imagining things so they continued walking forward only to once again end up in a clearing identical to the one before. This time, Jack used his frost (which worked well even without his staff – thank goodness!) to mark one of the trees before venturing forward once more. This time when they approached the clearing with the frost covered tree it became plainly obvious that they’d somehow managed to go in circles while walking in a straight line.

“Ok Holly, wait here, I’ll probably be right back.” Leaving Holly before she had the chance to object Jack took off through the forest again only to end up coming up behind Holly. Just to test his theory he also took off in different directions through the undergrowth only to end up right back where he started.

He let out a long breath. “Well that was pointless.”

Holly giggled, “It was kind of funny though.”

Jack flashed her a smile before turning his attention back to the clearing. So whatever it was that he had to do, it had to be done in this clearing. Of course if he knew what Piece he was looking for exactly he might have actually had an idea of what he was supposed to do. But no, Death liked riddles evidently. 

Whoever said riddles were fun was a liar.

There didn’t seem to be anything to do. The trees all looked like trees and upon closer inspection turned out to be just that: trees. Nice and somewhat unusual colors but trees were still pretty boring. They weren’t even any good for climbing, all too small and spindly. He looked down at the glowing mushrooms next, he poked a couple but they just glowed cheerily away, completely oblivious of the annoyance their obliviousness was causing one dead winter spirit.

Jack sat down and leant back against a tree. His fingers were itching for his staff again but there didn’t seem to be any sticks in this place that were large enough to fill the void. Not really surprising. Jack looked up at the night sky. It was dark with purple gradients in places but no moon and no stars. Weird but Jack wasn’t complaining about the lack of a moon. He hated the Man in the Moon. It wasn’t a nice feeling and it had struck him rather suddenly when he’d realized that ‘Manny’ actually spoke to the Guardians but never once, in Jack’s 300 years, had he deemed it fit to tell Jack why he existed. Not even a whisper to let him know he was on the right track.

He may be on speaking (or in Bunny’s case _more_ than speaking) terms with the Guardians, but that doesn’t mean he’d forgiven the MiM. Not by a long shot. He stared absentmindedly at the pale lavender trunk of one of the trees, noting how the shadows cast by the mushy-lights (a perfectly legitimate name for the glowing mushrooms) were playing through the deeper purple and blue leaves.

It was pretty but Jack yawned. He was pretty bored. The colors almost seemed to fade with his boredom.

“You can rest as much as you need to.” Holly informed while taking a seat beside him. “I will watch over you, and dying is a really exhausting experience.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes. I spent the first, um weeks maybe? Sleeping surrounded by my family.”

Jack let out a little huff. “Family huh?” He might have a family here somewhere. If what the Guardians said was true than the answers were in the Toothbox. There hadn’t been time, between saving Bunny, defeating Pitch and then dying himself, to actually look at the memories inside. He promised himself that he would take the chance to look at them when he got back to the surface. He wasn’t going to spend his time here tracking down family that may or may not exist. It wouldn’t to him any good to meet them only to have to say goodbye, and he was sure that if he did have a family that cared for him then they’d want him to be happy.

“Yes, I have many relatives. Some are actually my ancestors and I didn’t meet them until after I died. It has been interesting to see how my family has grown and changed through the centuries I’ve been here.”

Jack yawned again but he tried to smother it as he looked over to Holly. “You have any favorites?”

Holly started and Jack wondered if he’d said something wrong. She relaxed almost instantly and favored Jack with an absolutely brilliant smile. “Yes, actually. My older brother, it may not be fair to say this but I love him the best. I even named my first son after him.” She looked so happy talking about her brother.

“What’s he like?” Jack asked curiously. Did he have a sister somewhere? Whose eyes lit up with love when she spoke of her brother?

“Hmmm,” Holly thought for a moment. “He’s kind and very fun. We play all the time but he always plays tricks. He makes me laugh even when I don’t feel like laughing.” She tilted her head slightly and looked Jack in the eyes. “And he always put me before himself. I was so mad at him about it but at the same time I was happy that he cared that much. He protected me and I don’t think I’ve ever really thanked him properly.”

“Oh? Why’s that?”

Holly shrugged with a mischievous little smile. “He’s always busy pulling pranks of course!”

Jack laughed with her. “Sounds like my kind of guy. Tell him I said ‘hi’ when you’re finished guiding me, ok?”

Holly’s smile became a little sad but Jack didn’t notice as he let out another yawn. “Are you tired?”

“No.” Jack mumbled but his voice was kind of betraying him. “Thanks for telling me about your brother.”

“Thanks for listening.”

“Anytime.” Jack was tired. It was the same kind of tired you get when you stare at a blank wall for too long. He was staring at the trees and for the life of him he couldn’t figure out how he’d thought they were beautiful before.

They seemed so plain now. Everything was rather plain wasn’t it? He looked up at the sky but it was so dull. He felt a kind of emptiness wash through him and he turned back to stare at the trees. The lights were as bright as ever but the colors seemed to be fading. No… they were the same. They were all the same. Everything was the same. 

The whole world was so lifeless. How did he not see this before? There was nothing interesting in the world. What was he doing here again? Bunny? But he was dull too wasn’t he? Apathy spread over Jack like a grey blanket and he felt it sink deep into his Self. Of course… nothing meant anything. There was nothing to fight for. Why was he even here? 

Only… he no longer cared why he was here. He stared ahead at the grey trees and his body became completely lax, his hands resting on the grey grass beside him. There was no reason to move. There was nothing out there, there was nothing in here… There was nothing that mattered.

Empty, hollow, uncaring, Jack stared blankly ahead with slack features.

Warm hands on his shoulder shook him slightly but he didn’t care enough to turn to see what was going on. Was she yelling? Did he care? He continued to stare forward at the trees that meant nothing.

There were no questions. No answers. No… anything…

Was he lying down? It was hard to tell. The trees hadn’t changed.

***E. Aster Bunnymund***  
 **nine weeks**  
Both Jamie and Aster had finally settled on what they’d do to honor Jack’s memory. A result of which was the kid spending as much time in the warren as he could get away with. Bunnymund had doubts over the moral implications of kidnapping a child from time to time but Jamie didn’t seem to mind and he was the only one who understood his grief. Besides, sometimes he brought Sophie with him and Aster had a soft spot for the little sheila. 

Today however, was not such a day. 

He was on his own, busy excavating an old tunnel that he hadn’t used in thousands of years. It led to another part of the warren which was poorly maintained. It was meant for the rest of his people… but the rest of his people never came. Parts of his warren remained unused and eventually he just couldn’t bring himself to have the energy to care for them knowing they’d never be lived in. But he’d promised Jack hadn’t he? Eternal winter. After talking it through with Jamie they’d realized that fulfilling this promise to Jack would be the perfect way to honor his memory.

They were also toying with ideas for flowers. Aster had made all the original flowers that covered the Earth, cross pollination and natural mutation had made the rest. He’d named the flowers after tribes of his people. Jamie has asked if it would be possible for Aster to make Jack a flower too, a flower that would only grow around Jack’s lake. Jamie had even made some sketches of what he’d thought the flowers should look like. Blues and whites with delicate frost-fern patterned petals. They were all surprisingly well drawn and thought out. Aster wasn’t quite sure he’d be able to pull off Jamie’s design exactly but it had definitely given him a few ideas.

Of course now he was knee high in dirt and mud while excavating his tunnel. He was filthy and he still hadn’t managed to get to sleep. Aster was grouchy and overtired but with nothing better to do he kept up his work. He was beginning to wonder if he’d ever actually fall asleep.

After hours of work he collapses because even though he can’t sleep his body is just too exhausted to continue.

Aster pants on the ground. He feels absolutely disgusting with sweat and mud clinging deeply in his fur.

The soft earth beneath him is cool and quite refreshing so Aster curls into it. It’s not his nest but right now he just wants to dream so badly. He hopes that Jack will be there again.

Aster stays curled up on the ground for a long time and his breathing slows and he starts to feel a little better. Then his ears prick up and his nose twitches.

He takes off so fast that dirt sprays out behind him.

In seconds he’s back in the field by the paint river. His heart leaps up into his throat and he smiles a real smile for the first time since his last dream. “Jack.” He says softly, reverently. 

But Jack doesn’t look at him. He’s sitting in the grass, staring blankly out towards the paint river but his posture is… strange. Jack is usually full of energy and even when he sits Aster could see the tension of a boy about to pounce. This time, however, he’s slumped over. Almost lifeless as he stares out at some blank point in front of him. His clothes are clean and there’s no blood in sight, Aster wants to be happy about it but… Even when Jack had been slashed to pieces and covered in blood he had never looked so… defeated.

He's sitting on the ground with his legs stretched out in front of him. His arms hang limply at his sides with his hands resting palms up on the ground. His back is hunched forward and his head is bent low. His clothes are clean but he looks… washed out? Like the colors that make up Jack are just a little duller than they should be. Even his white hair and pants seem overcast, almost as if he’s sitting in a shadow.

As Aster watches Jack he is horrified to see Jack flicker, briefly, in and out of existence. When he flickers back he’s even more washed out than before but that wasn’t the worst part! Aster could see _through_ him, like he wasn’t really there!

This all happens in the seconds that Aster stands looking at Jack before he runs to his love’s side.

“Jack? Jack mate, speak to me!” He’s afraid to touch the boy in case his hands fall through his rapidly fading body.

“…ny?...” Jack’s so quiet that even with his advanced hearing Aster has a hard time making out what he said.

“Yeah, yeah, Snowflake I’m here.” The old Pooka reassured him, kneeling as close to him as he could. “Jack please, tell me what’s wrong?”

Jack slowly lifted his head and looked at Aster but his eyes were so lifeless, blank and empty. Even though he was looking right at Aster it was almost like he couldn’t see him at all. “Nothing.” Jack said after a long silence. His voice was empty, there was no feeling at all. It wasn’t even cold or sad, it was just… empty. Emotionless and hollow. His face was slack and he remained staring vacantly at Aster.

“Jack?”

“There… is… nothing…” Jack’s words came slowly, almost as if he was forgetting what he was saying in the middle of saying it.

“Clearly there’s something wrong, come on little Snowflake.”

“I… am… nothing… there… is… nothing…”

All the while as Jack was speaking he was fading further and further. He was now devoid of color completely and was even less substantial. Aster could see through him to the grass he was sitting on. Jack was also flickering out more frequently.

Nothing?! What did he mean he was nothing?! “Jack, Snowflake, mate, you aren’t nothing! You hear me! You are _everything_ to me! Everything!”

Something flickered in Jack’s eyes for a moment but it was so fleeting that Aster didn’t have time to see what it was. But anything was better than this blankness that seemed to have infected Jack.

“Everything…” Jack stuttered and for a moment Aster hoped, “Is… the… same… nothing…” And his hope fell.

What was going on? Everything is the same nothing? What did that mean?

It was almost as if he’d lost all his wonder.

Aster’s ears pricked up. That was it, Jack had lost all his wonder and thus all his enthusiasm for everything around him. Aster had never really thought much of North’s center but he’d never encountered someone so lacking wonder, it was terrifying. How did North spread wonder? With toys and trinkets? Would that work for Jack?

What would work for Jack?

Aster had an idea. “I’ll be right back, stay right here.” He didn’t want to leave Jack, he was scared that when he came back Jack would have faded entirely, but if he didn’t move now then he wouldn’t have a chance to do this before he faded.

Aster took off towards his home and pushed his speed to the limits. His muscles ached and his legs burned but he had to be as quick as possible. Once he reached his front door he nearly tore it off its hinges in his haste to get inside. He bolted straight for his cold room and quickly scraping off and scooping up some ice shavings he made a rough slush ball in his hands before heading back out to Jack. He made it back to Jack in record time with a quickly melting ball of slush in his hands.

He knelt in front of Jack. Aster had a brief flash of doubt but then squared his shoulders and tossed the slush-ball at Jack’s face.


	5. We can't go any further

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bunny and Jack share a dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, having some trouble with this story. Any reviews/comments will really help. I need people to tell me what they think, am I going in the right direction? Is this any good? I'm having a little trouble 'feeling' it as much as I want to - if that makes sense. Either way I know where I'm going so I'm going to keep writing till I get there. I know how it ends but getting there can still be tricky.

***Jack Frost***  
Jack woke up coughing and sputtering. His face was freezing and wet! He stood up quickly and was hit with a wave of dizziness that threatened to sweep him off his feet.

“Jack! Jack you-!” He could hear Holly’s urgent voice but his vision was swimming in and out.

He could barely keep himself standing let alone hold a conversation. He stumbled forward a few steps with his hands rubbing his face. Odd, it didn’t feel cold or wet…

“Jack!”

Jack fell to his knees and then to the ground. He was actually pretty tired and with the nausea he just couldn’t stay awake.

His head hit the ground.

He leapt up quickly and was hit by another wave of vertigo which would have sent him back to the ground but strong, furred arms caught him before he fell. He whimpered somewhat pathetically but a soothing hum echoed through the body that was wrapped around him.

“Jack, I’m here, it’s alright mate. I’m here.” Bunny reassured him.

Jack let out a long sigh. “Bunny.” His dream Bunny. He buried his face into the soft fur on Bunny’s chest. Inhaling deeply and thanking his brain for being able to capture Bunny’s fresh, earthy scent in such perfect detail.

“Jack.” Bunny let out a breath of his own and Jack could feel his heart beating rapidly in his chest but it was slowly calming down.

Jack focused on breathing, deeply and evenly as color seemed to bleed back into the world around him. It was a strange sensation; it wasn’t as if the colors had actually changed or faded it was just that Jack had stopped noticing them. Now as he looked around with wide eyes it seemed impossible that he could have not seen the beautiful, bright, living green that was the warren. The flowers, the earth, the trees and the rivers… He closed his eyes and snuggled into Bunny a little more. It was alright, he could see it now. He could feel it now.

“What happened?” Jack asked quietly but the question was more directed at himself than at Bunny. He supposed that he would likely find out when he woke up and the had the chance to ask Holly about it. She was probably freaking out a little right about now.

“I think you lost your Wonder.”

Jack frowns and pulls away from Dream Bunny to look up into his green eyes. His face was stern and his eyebrows pulled together tightly as he frowned. Jack gently traced a finger between Bunny’s eyebrows and down his nose gently and soothed the furrows there. His wonder? He remembered North talking about it but he hadn’t really though it was all that important but now… He remembered how it felt. Or rather, how it didn’t feel. There was no excitement or joy and everything just seemed so empty. Wonder… Jack was finally realizing how important it was. So now he had Determination and Wonder, assuming this was all part of the test. If so, then he had gained one more Piece. Who knows how many more to go?

Jack kissed the tip of Bunny’s nose sweetly. “I’m fine now though. Thanks. You really saved me. A snow ball huh?”

Bunny smiled warmly. “Yeah, just ask myself ‘what would Jack do?’ and the answer was so simple. ‘He’d throw a snow ball at it.’”

Jack laughed a little. “You know me so well.” He trailed his hands up Bunny’s muscular chest and over his broad shoulders. His fur was so misleading because underneath his soft exterior was miles of hard muscle. Jack reveled in the warmth that danced through his fingers as he touched Bunny’s skin underneath his fur. Bunny’s grip tightened momentarily and his breath stuttered for a moment.

Jack smiled innocently and looked up at Bunny through his eyelashes, “Problem?” His fingers grazed Bunny’s throat lightly and Jack felt him swallow. “Maybe you should ask yourself, ‘What would Jack do?’”

A deep possessive growl vibrated through Bunny’s chest. Jack smirked and kissed his throat lightly and trailing light kisses up his jawline to his mouth before using his tongue to skillfully gain entrance. Jack moaned slightly when Bunny returned the kiss and he thanked his mind once more because he even tasted the same! Bunny met his tongue eagerly with his own and Jack reached around and scratched Bunny’s neck roughly, right behind his ears.

Bunny’s hands moved down and grabbed Jack’s ass tightly. Jack felt a hot rush of heat that headed straight to his groin. He could feel the strength in Bunny’s hands, the feeling of his claws brushing against him through the cotton of his pants, but he was gentle. Bunny wasn’t hurting him at all. Jack could have wept. He felt so real. Jack wanted to wrap his legs around Bunny and just let go, just for a moment. Jack wanted to drown in Bunny’s tongue and let it run hot all over his body. Jack wanted… so much. So much that he couldn’t have.

A tear slipped down his cheek and Bunny’s grip loosened immediately as he stiffened. Jack parted from him and gave him a sad smile. “I’m sorry, but we can’t go any further.”

Bunny catches his breath and meets Jack’s sad stare with a sorrowful one of his own. “Why not?” He asked softly but it sounded as though Bunny already knew the answer.

Jack traced his hand lightly down the side of Bunny’s face and another tear fell when Bunny nuzzled his hand lovingly. “Because I died before we could go any further.”

***E. Aster Bunnymund***

For the second time in his life while kissing Jack, Aster tasted the salty sweet of his tears. Aster stiffened immediately reminded of the final moments he’d spent with Jack. The images flashed almost violently through his mind, Pitch, death, Jack - _I’m sorry_ … Jack had apologized over and over for something that he had no control over. The only people Aster blamed were Pitch, for killing Jack, and himself, for not believing in the frost spirit sooner. He had wasted so many years because he’d never given Jack the time of day and when he’d finally opened his eyes he’d lost him.

Jack pulled away and smiled sadly. “I’m sorry, but we can’t go any further.”

Aster knew why. Of course he knew why. Jack was just a dream. “Why not?” He asked anyway.

Jack touched the side of his face, trailing his fingertips softly down Aster’s cheek and the Pooka watched another tear fall from his eye. “Because I died before we could go any further.”

It breaks Aster’s heart and he can’t help but let out a heaving breath that’s almost a sob.

“Hey, hey, shh.” Jack runs his hands up and down Bunny’s arms, soothing him. “It’s alright. I’m here.”

“I’m not strong enough Jack. I’m just…” They sink to the ground in each other’s arms.

“At least we have this, right?” 

“Yeah mate. We have this.” 

Aster spends the rest of the dream curled up with Jack in his arms.

Aster wakes in his muddy tunnel. Curled up in the dirt covered in sweat and grime. His arms are empty and he feels cold, but not the sort of cold that reminds him of Jack. He feels empty. He can’t hold back his shuddering sobs as he curls a little tighter in the mud. He tries to breathe deeply, to calm himself but he can’t seem to stop. What was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to get up every day when Jack wasn’t here? How had he done it before?

The real world seemed so dark without Jack.

Hours passed and Aster finally managed to rise out of the mud. He shook himself off roughly and firmed his resolve. He had to work hard every day, so he could tire out and sleep/pass out. He needed to dream. He needed Jack. He made his way back home. The walk was long and by the time he got to his house he felt worse than when he started. He was going to take long, hot bath and then continue working in the tunnels.

When he arrived home it was to the front door almost torn off it's hinges. He decided to worry about that later. As he stepped in the front door a sudden, cold, wet feeling made him lift his foot. He looked down at his floor incredulously. It was wet, there was a thin layer of freezing cold water over his floor. Aster ventured further in his house, splashing all the way, until he reached his cold-room. The door was open and most of the ice had melted, flooding his house.

Aster raised an eyebrow. He looked down at his floor and back at his ice room. 

…

He closed the door to the room and proceeded to his bathroom to bathe.


	6. You are my hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So the next test begins and Jack thinks he's ready to face it. Aster dreams again and begins to question reality.

Jack sat up. Holly was hovering over him asking him if he was okay, touching him. Shaking him. Tears welled up in his eyes. What had he done?! He let out a harsh sob and once he started it seemed to pour out of him. Oh Bunny… Soon he was wailing like a baby.

Holly knelt beside him and wrapped her tiny arms around him. It was nice but it wasn’t enough. He wanted Bunny. He wanted him here so bad. 

How selfish could he get? Jack cried and tried to hold himself together. What had he done? Was the real Bunny up there somewhere, so completely lost and broken because of Jack? Had he done that to Bunny?

Jack tried to breathe, to calm down but it was too much. The guilt was too much. But… isn’t that why he was fighting? He was fighting for Bunny, not just himself. Always for Bunny. He needed Bunny to be alright and he needed it so badly that it frightened him. He wasn’t sure the moment he became so dependent on someone else but he needed Bunny like he needed air.

Jack calmed down after a few shudders and wiped his face. He felt a little better, like the tears were somehow cleansing. It seemed clearer now. He breathed in deeply. He’d been through a lot. He’d died and clearly it had impacted him a little more than he thought. For now, he bottled it all up, sealing inside himself. He didn’t have time. He could break when he was alive again but not now. He took in another deep breath and let it out slowly.

“Sorry.” He turned to Holly and gave her a small smile. “Just a little overwhelmed but I’m alright.”

Holly rubbed his back soothingly. “You don’t need to apologize. You’ve been through a lot. You’re actually handling yourself remarkably well.”

“Normal to blubber like a baby after you die then?”

“Yes.”

Jack smiled and dusted himself off as he stood up. “Alright then. On to the next Piece then?”

“If you’re ready.”

“Of course I’m-woah…” Jack stumbled a bit as he stood. He felt… weighed down. Like there was a pressure on his chest that he couldn’t shake. It was similar to the feeling of his heart beating for the first time but significantly more taxing. He felt… heavy. It wasn’t too bad and with a little effort he managed to push himself upright. Squaring his shoulders, he reassured Holly he was ‘OK’ before she had the chance to ask. Death had warned him that his Self would be burdened by the weight of his Pieces. Without a body to support him it was up to what remained of his soul to carry the weight of the Pieces that defined him. He now had Determination and Wonder.

“Alright. I guess it’s time we find the next gate. Lead on Guide and I shall follow!” Jack posed dramatically with a hand on his hip and a finger pointed in a random direction. Giggling Holly brushed her hair out of her eyes before moving along the path.

This time, instead of appearing back in the clearing, the path continued until they reached a strange circle made of trees. There was a group of trees growing out of the ground that seemed to curve and twine around each other. It formed a strange circle opening in the middle that was wide enough for them to pass through. If Jack had to guess, he’d say this is the gate they were looking for. Which meant that Jack had really done it…

“Ha ha! Yes!” He’d found another Piece and he was one step closer to life!

Holly raised an inquisitive eyebrow at him.

Shrugging Jack gestured at the gate. “We did it. I’m one step closer to being alive. Let’s see what else Death has in store for me, you ready?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” 

“I died ready!” Jack smirked.

They both stepped forward and climbed through the gate.

Just like the first time it was jarring how quickly the scenery changed. One second they were in the purple forest and the next they were standing in a dank, smelly, stone tunnel of some kind.

“Ugh…” Jack covered his mouth. This place smelled terrible and it was so dark he could barely see. There was a faint light but he couldn’t tell where it was coming from as there were no windows in the tunnel. The light was only just barely enough to make out the square shape of the bricks that made up the walls and the fact that they were glistening with some kind of moisture. It felt slimy under his feet. “You’re not scared of the dark are you?” He asked Holly after a second or two of silence to take in this new torture Death had provided him.

Holly shook her head, Jack heard it more than he saw it. “No. I’m fine. Are you?”

Shrugging Jack tried his best not to gag. “Yes and no. The confined space gets me more than the darkness. Just have to hurry up and find my missing Piece right? Simple.” He may have been masking his trepidation with a little bravado, but who was going to judge him here?... Yeah he wasn’t going down that line of thought. Judgement was not something he wanted to think about too closely when wandering around Death’s domain.

They began their trek forwards and Jack had to fight the shudder that wanted to break out every time his bare feet took another step along the grimy floor. It was slick with something and felt slightly soft and it was really freaking Jack out. He could feel emotional trauma from this was going to haunt him for a long time as he mentally added the icky feeling on his feet to his phobias list.

Walking for a long time without anything changing had Jack wondering if this was a general theme with these places. He really hated being trapped, that weird forest had been bad enough. It didn’t take too long, however, for something to change. The soft goo on the ground seemed to be getting thicker and harder to walk through. The further they walked the worse it became until Jack was fighting to pull his feet free from it with every step. Holly wasn’t having any trouble with it at all. She seemed to be able to step lightly over it without sinking it at all, indicating that this was part of the test. Just like the last two, Holly could observe but didn’t actually take part in the tests themselves.

Jack swallowed deeply and tried to focus on something else besides the disgusting feeling slime that was getting deeper with each and every step. It wasn’t working. It was cold and unpleasant and felt worse than that one time he’d fallen into a stagnant pond. It smelled much worse as well. Like old rotten wood and pond scum mixed with used public toilets. He should make a perfume out of it and give it to Loki. That guy was always up for a laugh; Jack was sure he’d love it.

Of course this place wasn’t technically ‘real’ so the smell wasn’t actually ‘real’ either. For a non-existent stench it was really doing a number on his non-existent stomach. He was going to non-existent puke if it got any worse.

Jack felt himself sink further, “Oh shit.” He couldn’t help but utter as the slime started to travel upwards while it pulled him down. He suddenly had a sinking feeling that a ‘sinking feeling’ was a very apt description for what was about to happen. He struggled for a moment but he couldn’t pull his feet out any more and he was definitely sinking. “Holly?”

“Jack?! Oh Jack what’s happening?”

“I’m sinking.” Now that Jack had started paying attention to it, it seemed to be pulling him down faster. He fought down his disgust and spoke quickly because soon he doubted he’d be able to. “Don’t worry, this must be the test. I’ll come back soon I prom-” He was cut off when the foul smelling slime clogged his mouth and continued to travel up his face while sucking him down into the darkness. He was not surprised to find that it tasted worse than it smelled. He was sick in his mouth and even his bile tasted better than the sludge.

He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t speak, he couldn’t see. All Jack could do was feel the nauseating slime all around him. It didn’t take long for him to lose himself to the darkness.

***E. Aster Bunnymund***

**Three months**

Aster was sitting at a table in North’s workshop. The workshop was buzzing with activity like usual, there was still a couple of months until North’s big day but unlike with Aster they could work on their project all year. The Guardians had started meeting more regularly after the final battle with Pitch. Trying to keep on top of things or something… Aster wasn’t really paying that much attention. He was exhausted. It had been over three weeks since he last slept and he had worked himself to the bone. He couldn’t figure it out. Before Jack he’d slept regularly, maybe every so often he’d pull an all-nighter but this was just… ridiculous. It shouldn’t even be possible. Well it was obviously possible and this wasn’t the first time it had happened, or the longest, but he was so tired that it didn’t feel possible. What he meant was that it shouldn’t be possible unless he was doing it on purpose… or something… He was just so tired…

Sleep. He desperately needed sleep.

The other Guardians had seemed to notice that he wasn’t in any shape for the meeting so they were keeping their distance. Aster was silently grateful for it but he knew it wouldn’t last. He knew exactly what this looked like and they were both right and very, very wrong. Yes, he wasn’t letting Jack go or allowing himself to grieve, but no, that’s not why he wasn’t sleeping. He just couldn’t sleep and he wanted to _so_ badly. Jack would be waiting for him there. Jack was always waiting for him. In his dreams…

“Bunny, you don’t look good. Should I help you to the infirmary?” Toothiana asked gently while Aster swayed slightly in his seat.

“Yes, Bunny. You need rest.”

“Fantastic idea North.” Aster mumbled sarcastically right as his head hit the table. He was out in seconds.

He stood up in the warren.

He rubbed his forehead slightly while he listened for the tell-tale sign of Jack. It hurt from the knock of the table, which was odd. Why would he be feeling pain in his dream?

A sudden cold breeze followed by a snowball to the face distracted Aster from his thoughts.

Jack laughed joyfully as he watched Aster wipe the snow out of his fur. He was standing beside a tree he must have hidden behind, waiting for Aster.

“A little payback.” Jack grinned widely and Aster couldn’t help but chuckle. A snowball had never felt so good before in his life!

“C’mere you little imp!” Aster lunged after him but even without his staff Jack was a spry little bugger. He ran, laughing, through the trees. Ducking and weaving while Aster chased his prey. He was so close to Jack that he could have reached out and grabbed him but instead he leapt silently up into the trees. Jack had run right into one of the heavily forested areas, likely thinking the extra cover would help with the chase. But Aster was a predator and this was his domain.

Jack burst into a clearing and turned around. “Bunny?” He panted and was greeted by silence.

Aster wasn’t just a predator; he was an apex predator. He hunted but was never hunted himself. The top of the food chain. He crept silently through the branches hanging over the clearing. Finding the perfect place and settling in to wait. He could see Jack’s face, flushed slightly pink from the run. His lips parted slightly as he tried to catch his breath. Jack wiped his forehead and pushed his hair back from his face. He tilted his head around and unknowingly bared his throat to Aster. The Pookan warrior rumbled appreciatively, low in his throat, quietly enough so that Jack didn’t hear.

“Bunny?” Jack called once more, tentatively. His timid voice strained Aster’s heart. He knew that voice, that sound, Jack was afraid he wasn’t there anymore. Aster recognized the fear as it was mirrored in himself. Afraid that even in his dreams of Jack he would turn around only to find empty space beside him. “Please.” Jack begged.

Aster leapt down without fully thinking about it first, directly in front of Jack. He’d been intending to scare the young spirit as kind of a joke, but the way Jack sounded just then…

Jack smiled with barely restrained relief. “You’re still here.” His voice almost choked up. “You… You’re still here.”

He pulled the eternal teenager into his arms. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to… I’m sorry. I’m not going anywhere mate, I promise.”

Jack buried his face into Aster’s fur and breathed in deeply. “No, I know you would never leave.” Then, even quieter than a whisper, “I was the one who left.”

Aster’s breath caught in his throat. “Do you… blame yourself Jack?” He asked although he couldn’t comprehend it. Jack’s silence was answer enough. “Oh Snowflake, no.” The Pooka rubbed Jack’s back in slow, comforting circles. “You saved my life. You took an arrow for me without even hesitating… and it was right after I yelled at you for something that really wasn’t your fault. You saved me Jack, in more ways than one. You saved all of us.” Jack shook his head so Aster just held him tighter. It broke his heart that Jack didn’t believe him. It was almost too real. He could imagine that if Jack were alive somewhere he’d react the same way. Bearing so much weight… all on his own. Just like when he faced the Nightmare King alone, even when he knew he was dying.

Aster hadn’t realized that he could still idolize hero’s, but Jack was his hero. He always would be.

Finally, Jack pulled away slightly, so he could look up into Aster’s eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. I’m sorry for scaring you.”

“It’s fine. I overreacted.” Aster went to object but Jack kept talking before he had a chance. “No, let’s stop. We don’t have a lot of time together, and this time I’m not hurt or… missing something. Why don’t we do something together?”

Aster smiles softly. “Yeah. I’d like that. What do you want to do?”

Jack laughs. “Well this is _your_ warren. What do you usually do here?”

The ancient Pooka thinks for a moment before smiling brightly. “Can I paint you? I’ve always wanted to draw you… I mean if you want…”

Laughing, Jack gives Aster a quick kiss. “Sure. I’d love that.”

Aster walks back to his home with Jack and after the younger spirit has a bit of a look around they settle into one of the sitting rooms. It’s comfortable with lots of cushions and Jack seems like he has a great time lounging around teasing Aster while he paints.

They stay like that for what feels like hours, talking, painting, laughing. He can’t be sure but Aster thinks this is the longest dream he’s had with Jack, although the first one where he had to tend to Jack’s hands had lasted a long time. He still enjoys this time immensely but as happy as it makes him, he feels an old longing creeping up on him. Similar to how he felt when he used to dream he was among his people again after he’d first come to earth. He wants this with Jack, in real life, not just in a dream. Even though Aster knows he could never have that.

Even though he recognizes it’s going to hurt when he wakes up he pushes down the maudlin thoughts threatening to surface and lives in this moment. This moment with his Jack. A perfect moment, that lasts a long time, but not nearly long enough. Jack lets him know when the dream is about to end. Aster can feel it too but Jack always notices first.

They hold each other this time. Aster holds Jack as tight as he can without hurting him. Trying in vain to keep Jack with him. It’s instinctive but Jack seems to understand because he’s doing the same thing.

“I love you Bunny. I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Jack, Snowflake… too much.” They whisper hurriedly as the dream fades out into reality.

Although when Aster opens his eyes in the workshop he knows that this isn’t his reality, not anymore. His dreams with Jack are more real to him than his life without him.

Aster grumbles and stretches his neck, he’s stiff and sore. He must have been asleep for a long time and he’s surprised to find that he’s still hunched over. He’d have thought that one of the other Guardians would have moved him at least.

“Bunny? Are you awake this time?” Toothiana asks softly.

Despite his aches and pains he turns to face her. He’s surprised to see that he’s actually in a different part of the workshop. He’s actually in his private study, a room North had built him ages ago that he hardly used. He only used it when he needed a change of scenery or fresh air to get his creative juices flowing. It was full of his spare paints, brushes, parchment and other art supplies he had a surplus of in his warren. The windows were open and it was nearly freezing but Aster found the cold wind reminiscent of Jack. He was about to stand but he felt something wet touch his hand and he looked down to the desk he’d been lying on. There were paintings and sketches, at least fifty of them, covering the surface of the desk and on the floor beside it. There was paint and charcoal on his hands so he must have done this, somehow, in his sleep.

The paintings were of Jack. All of them. It was every drawing he’d done in his dream. He smiled a little as he picked one up. Jack was propped up on his elbows, looking at Aster with a smile that could only be described as loving. In the picture, Aster had even managed to capture the playful twinkle ever-present in Jack’s eyes. While he’d been painting this Jack had been reminiscing about his favourite snow ball fights.

A delicate hand on his shoulder startled him from his thoughts.

“Aster!” Toothiana scolded lightly. “I’ve been calling you for five minutes… Are you ok?”

Aster opens his mouth to say something, anything, to reassure her but she’s seen the paintings. She’d know he was lying.

She looks down at the drawings and back up at Aster. She knows. Toothiana always knows about things like this and right now Aster can tell that she can see right through him so he doesn’t bother trying to make excuses he knows she won’t believe.

“Oh Bunny. I’m sorry… we didn’t realize it was so bad… that you were suffering so greatly. I didn’t realize how much Jack meant to you. I’m sorry.”

He shakes his head. No, he’s not ready. Not for this. Whatever this is means he’ll have to acknowledge that something’s wrong. Whatever this is will mean that things will have to change. He’s not ready to grieve or move on or get over it or whatever else Tooth could possibly want him to do.

“Don’t take him away, please, he’s all I have.” He half whispers, half begs. Aster is not ready to let go.

He doesn’t think he ever will be.


	7. a Piece of Memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack finds his next piece, Aster talks with Tooth and is pulled into a memory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I'm updating this again coz I do want to finish this story. I just wish all my ideas would just splat themselves on the screen so they'd all be finished and people could read them, but noooo, I have to write them. It's time consuming but I do want to finish all these coz I have so many ideas for more. Bear with me guys, this will be finished :)

***Jack Frost***

It was cold and it was dark. 

It was cold, and it was dark. Jack was afraid. Then he saw the moon, it was so big and so bright, it seemed to chase the darkness away. His body was pulled up from the depths and slowly the cold stopped bothering him, it became home. He floated to the surface which was covered in ice, and the ice parted for him, and it became part of him. The wind caressed him as he rose to meet the moon and it became his companion.

The moon whispered, _Jack Frost_.

So ‘Jack Frost’ is who he became.

His feet touched the surface of his lake and the ice closed over. He looked at the moon with a sort of longing that quickly turned into annoyance. “Yeah, yeah. You made me, I get it.” He kicked the ground grumpily and looked down when the familiar sound of wood against ice rang out through the otherwise still night. Right, his staff, this was the night he picked up his staff for the first time.

Jack looked down at the shepherd’s crook at his feet. This one was not real, this one was something that this ‘test’ had created. He would be able to feel if it was his real staff and he could tell that this one was a fake. Still, if it was here, if this was a recreation of that night, then he supposed he should pick it up. Jack found himself oddly reluctant to pick up the fake. He nudged it with his foot and frost bloomed across its surface.

“Real impressive, you know I can make frost without a staff right?” It was just the really complicated stuff he couldn’t do without it. Of course he was talking to a glorified stick. Jack spent a second or two longer glaring at the staff before sighing. “Fine!” He bent down.

He grabbed the staff quickly and as he stood up he was overwhelmed with a sudden nausea as the world around him seemed to spin on its axis. Looking up to see the sky and gain his bearings Jack watched as night turned into day, over and over, in quick succession. The weirdest thing was, it was going backwards.

Jack watched, nonplussed, as the world around him seemed to speed back through time. Until it was some time at the beginning of a winter. He couldn’t tell how far back the time had gone as the days had blurred by so quickly but it was definitely some time before he rose from the lake. The ice was thin, so thin in fact, that it was cracking beneath his feet. It shouldn’t have been possible. But as he looked down he caught sight of his reflection in the water. His hair was brown and so were his clothes. These were the clothes he’d first woken up in… This was… before he became Jack Frost!

In shock Jack looked around as quickly as he could, taking in as much as he could. Where was he? Who was he? What was he doing here? On his lake…

Then he noticed a little girl in a brown dress kneeling at the shore. It was Holly but she looked different then the Holly he knew, her eyes were wide and frightened but when they met Jack’s she looked almost relieved. Jack smiled in return and made as if to step towards her but the ice beneath him cracked and he was plunged suddenly into the depths of the lake. He heard her scream his name as the cold invaded his senses.

Jack Frost was always cold. It was just as much a part of him as his white hair and blue eyes but this cold was unlike anything he had ever felt before. It was invasive, alien, horrifying, painful… It penetrated to him to his core as he struggled in vain against the water. He couldn’t breathe and his lungs burned for it, his mouth opened to take a breath against his will and the cold penetrated his mouth, his lungs, deeper and deeper. Scouring him out from the inside. He was dying.

As the light faded from his eyes and his weak struggles began to fade images flashed through his mind. Not just any images, he realized, but his memories. Not of Jack Frost but of who he was before… He finally remembered Jackson Overland. More importantly he remembered his sister, Hollyweather.

He smiled and closed his eyes, embracing death once more, surrounded by happy memories of a family he’d only just remembered.

The darkness around him solidified, becoming thicker. Clogging and sticking like tar and regaining momentum Jack struggled to the surface anew. And by the moon did it taste _awful_! When he broke the surface he vomited and spat and tried to breathe and it smelled as bad as it tasted. Thick and cloying, clinging to his skin as he dragged himself to the surface. He was heavier now. He had another piece and it was difficult to keep surfaced.

“Jack! I’m here, hold on!” Little arms reaching for him, holding him, reassuring him.

Jack huffed a laugh as his breathing finally calmed and he managed to haul himself out of the muck with Holly’s help. They collapsed in a heap on the solid shore.

“Memories.” Jack whispered quietly when Holly finally had him in her arms. With his head pillowed in her lap he gave himself time to catch his breath. “The piece I was missing, the one I gained this time, it was my memories. I remember you Runt,” Jack curled closer to his sister. “I remember you.”

“I am not a ‘runt’ you Twig.” Holly was smiling but crying at the same time.

*** E. Aster Bunnymund ***  
 **three months**

“You love him, don’t you Bunny?” Toothiana asked softly.

Aster didn’t answer her with anything more than a nod. His throat was too thick, clogged up with all the feelings he just couldn’t say. ‘Love’ didn’t feel strong enough. No one understood. Jack was his mate. Death couldn’t stop that. If the world didn’t need him, he would have followed Jack into Death itself to be with him. But the world did need him and he had no choice but to live on, protecting the world Jack had given his life to save.

Toothiana let out a sigh and pulled something out of her feathers. She’d hidden it, keeping it on her because after Easter she couldn’t bear to let it go. Tooth had never told anyone besides her husband North, but she couldn’t have children. She had her fairies, and it helped ease the ache in her heart… but Jack… Something in him had called to the ‘Mother’ in her and she’d hoped that maybe Jack could have been the missing piece to complete her family.

She’d wanted the chance to adopt Jack, if he’d wanted her to, and she knew that North had felt the same about the wayward child. She looked at the little, wooden box.

Tooth pressed the golden box into Aster’s hands. “I think you need this more than I do. I’ve been holding onto it… I don’t want to let him go either.”

Aster looked down at the toothbox and the picture on the side. Jack… These were Jack’s teeth. Jack’s memories. The Pooka cradled them gently to his chest, his eyes never leaving the golden wood. Then… it started to glow.

Toothiana started forward, “That’s impossible, only Jack-?!”

But her panicked voice was cut off as Aster was pulled into the diamonds that made up Jack’s memories. He was standing by a lake; it was sometime late in the afternoon. It was cold, but not too cold, likely early or late winter. From the lake’s shore Aster could see a little girl and a teenaged boy on the ice. For a moment Aster though that everything was alright until he heard the ice crack.

He had sense enough to know this was a memory… He could not help here. But his heart lurched in his chest as he watched the little girl start to tremble in fear, stuck on the ice as it cracked beneath her.

“It’s ok. It’s ok. Don’t look down, just look at me.” A familiar voice reassured the little girl and Aster’s head snapped over to the brunette boy who was also on the ice.

“Jack,” Aster looked back at the girl when she uttered the name. _His_ name. “I’m scared.” His ears flicked and he heard the ice cracking beneath her feet. His heart bled for her, but his eyes were drawn back to the boy.

“I- I know, I know, but you’re gonna be alright-” Aster watched, his heart in his throat, as Jack tried to calm down the little girl. “You’re not gonna fall in. Uh… We’re gonna have a little fun instead!” Aster couldn’t fight his chuckle, or his tears, when he heard Jack reason with the girl. The little girl had to be his sister, and while the boy had brown hair and chocolate eyes there was no denying it was Jack. The way he moved, his expressions, the way he was out on the ice selflessly trying to save this girl. He felt a horrible sinking sensation in his gut and he had a feeling he knew how this scenario was going to end.

“No we’re not!” The little girl argued, terrified, in the middle of the lake. Aster stepped forward without thinking but paused as his paws touched the ice. There wasn’t anything he could do here. He could feel the cold and it all seemed so real… but there were diamonds flickering in and out at the corners of his vision and he knew that if he turned around he’d see the fading static of the end of the memory. Only this place existed in this memory, and only the way Jack remembered it. He couldn’t interfere, but he wanted to.

“Would I trick you?”

“Yes! You always play tricks!”

“Well, alright, well not- not- not this time. I promise, I promise you’re gonna be- you’re gonna be fine. You have to believe in me.”

Aster’s heart was breaking. The girl swallowed nervously, her eyes flitting down at the ice before looking back up to Jack. If she moved even an inch, here skates would shatter the ice beneath her.

“You wanna play a game?” Jack asked, gesturing in a playful manner. “We’re gonna play hopscotch! Like we play every day! I-It’s as easy as, uh, one-” He stepped a little closer to his sister, wincing as the ice cracks a little, “Woah!” He flails a little comically, pretending to almost fall over. His sister laughs, comforted by Jack’s antics. “Two!” He manages to take another successful step and she laughs again. “Three!” He lands on a solid part of the ice and there are no cracking noises.

Aster’s eyes flit between the two, the girl is much calmer now. Jack reassured his sister in a way that only Jack could. Aster chuckles along with the girl at Jack’s capers. Only Jack could pull something like that off at a time like this. Tears stream freely down his face and he doesn’t bother wiping them away, he can’t close his eyes, not now.

“Alright.” Jack reaches down and grabs a stick that’s on the ice. Aster’s heart shudders as he recognizes Jack’s staff – the signature shepherd’s crook instantly recognizable. “Now it’s your turn. One-” She gasps because the ice cracks further, “That’s it, that’s it.” Jack reassures as he lines up his staff, holding it near her as she gasps again. She’s terrified but she’s trying to be brave. “Two,” She looks down at the ice, horrified but looks back up at Jack, “Three!” He hooks the staff around her waist and pulls. She slides along the ice, all the way to the shore, and she’s safe.

Aster didn’t watch the girl, he watched Jack. As the girl had slid to safety the motion had pulled Jack back out to the weaker ice. He watches as Jack sits up, sees his sister safe, and smiles. Aster has to choke back a sob… he recognizes that smile. That self-sacrificing, joy filled smile. Jack’s weight cracks the ice, already weakened by his sister. Jack plunges into the water and the girl screams out her brother’s name.

Aster knows this is just a memory. He knows that. But just like how he knew Jack was only in his dreams… his instincts took over and he ran on all fours over the ice. Without a second thought to the logic behind it, he dove into the broken ice and down into the icy depths after the boy he loved.

The water was so cold and it weighed down his fur, making it hard to move. Hard to swim. But he fought against it to make his way to his mate. He had to get to his mate!

It was so dark, he couldn’t see a thing, he couldn’t feel anything but cold and feared that the numbness would make it harder to find Jack. He couldn’t breathe! His lungs burned and it was the only thing he could feel apart from the cold but he kept pushing himself down, further and further. Where was Jack?!

A gentle light seemed to flood the lake from behind him but Aster didn’t turn to see what it was. When the blue glow penetrated the waters of the lake he looked more frantically for his Snowflake.

He found Jack at the bottom of the lake. He swam down, reaching out to the boy, but Jack was still. Jack was dead.

He hesitated and in his hesitation he saw the light strengthen. It took him seconds to recognize it as moonlight.

Jack’s hair began to glow, changing from the brown to the snowy white locks that Aster loved. Then Jack opened his eyes.

Aster had a second to stare into those bright blue eyes before the diamonds appeared around them and took him away.

Aster dropped the toothbox and stumbled back, breathing heavily. He could feel the icy water around him still and it took a moment for him to shake off the memory.

“Just breathe, breathe with me!” Tooth ordered with a hand on Aster’s shoulder. They synchronized their breathing for a moment before Aster managed to get his bearings. “You’re alright, it was just a memory. They’re powerful, I know, but it’s all in the past.”

She tried to soothe him but it only made it worse.

“Did you know?!” Aster asked breathless. 

Toothiana shook her head slowly, “What do you-?!”

“Did. You. Know?!” Aster demanded again, squaring his shoulders.

“Know what?”

Aster picked up the toothbox and held it up to illustrate his point. “That over Easter wasn’t the first time Jack had given his life to save someone. Jack gave his life over and over to protect those he loved, and I had no idea. Did you?”

Toothiana backed off slightly, her wings drooping as she landed on the floor. “Aster…”

Aster shook his head. “This is just… You never….” He took a deep breath and turned from her. “I need to get back to the Warren.” He ended their conversation abruptly. He couldn’t’ do this, not now. He was too raw. Too hurt. He didn’t want to take this out on Toothiana, that wouldn’t be fair.

But then, had anyone ever been fair to Jack? 

Young, beautiful Jack, who had given his life twice to save those he cared about.

Life hadn’t been fair to Jack Frost. Aster only hoped that death would be.


	8. Just a Dream of You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack has trouble sleeping.

***Jack Frost***  
Jack and his little sister (that he actually remembered!!) were walking through a large, open field. It was grassy and nice, the sky was blue, the air was fresh, there was just a hint of clouds in the sky. It stretched endlessly in every direction. It was pretty, if a little plain. They’d passed through the last gate a little while ago and were now just wandering idly, slowly, searching for the next Piece of Jack’s Self. They couldn’t walk too fast; Jack was getting tired too easily. The weight of the pieces he already had was pulling him down. He bore it though, and stoically continued to search for the next one. He had three now: Determination, Wonder and Memories. He didn’t know how many he had left but… he rubbed absently at his chest. He hoped it wasn’t too many more because he didn’t know if he could take the added strain.

“Do you want to rest? Just for a little bit?” Holly suggested, worried for her brother. Her hand was held tightly in his, and they walked together just like they used to. Holly had grown up without Jack but right now she was happy to be a child again for him. Death was flexible like that.

Jack couldn’t bring himself to let go of her hand. She’d been with him this far but… there was an irrational fear that if he let go now she would disappear. Fading from his side, and from his memories, and he would lose her all over again. His hand flexed against hers but he kept his grip loose enough not to hurt her, even though he wanted to squeeze her tightly to make sure she could never leave him again. He knew it hadn’t been her fault. He was the one who died but… He didn’t realize how much he missed her until he remembered her. “No.” Jack answered after a little while, his voice slightly breathless. “I’m so close.” Which was bittersweet really. By finding life again for Bunny… he would be leaving Holly behind.

She knew, of course she knew. But Holly had faith in her brother and his choices and wanted nothing more than his happiness. If this is how he’d find it, then she would help him. She was just grateful for this time they had together. “Ok.” She smiled brightly and continued walking by Jack’s side. At least this time they would be able to have a proper goodbye.

Jack was thinking along the same vein as Holly, glad for this time they had been given and incredibly grateful to have his memories back. It was so much more than he’d had before he’d died. But it still didn’t shake his loyalty to his Kangaroo. Jack blushed, stumbling slightly as he walked, remembering the few kisses they’d shared. He had to get back, to figure out what happened _after_ kisses. He wanted to know.

He wanted the future Bunny had told him in their final moments. He wanted to argue and to make-up. He wanted his eternal winter in the Warren. He wanted to freeze the paint river. His heart ached so badly with the longing for those moments that he could almost fool himself into thinking he was complete. But as weighed down as he was, he wasn’t complete yet. Soon though… he had to believe it would be soon.

Jack stumbled slightly and it pulled him from his thoughts, with the hand not holding onto Holly’s, he rubbed his tired eyes. “You may actually be onto something with that whole ‘rest’ idea.” Jack admitted with a yawn.

Holly giggled, “Oh Twiggy, I warned you. Death is tiring.”

“Shut it Runt. And be my pillow.” Jack playfully tackled Holly to the ground like he used to when they were both actually kids. She laughed and squealed as they play wrestled for a moment. It ended with Holly flat on her back with Jack’s head on her stomach. “Now don’t move, under pain of intense tickle torture.” Jack threatened tiredly with another yawn.

Holly laughed, making Jack’s head bounce slightly on her tummy. She stroked his hair fondly, differently colored than she remembered it but it still felt the same against her fingers. She used to try and put it up with ribbons and any other pretty baubles she could find. “Just sleep.” She scolded lightly. She didn’t mind being Jack’s ‘pillow’. It was actually kind of comfortable, lying in the grass. 

Jack closed his eyes and slowed his breathing. He lied down for what for what felt like hours. He couldn’t sleep.

Jack sat back up, grumpily, and rubbed at his tired eyes. He was exhausted. And heavy. And just… wanted to sleep!

Holly sat up too and asked him if he was alright.

Jack growled something intelligible and threw himself back down into the grass. Tossing and turning as he tried to get comfortable. The grass was soft. The day was warm but not unpleasantly so. The sun was bright but even when Jack covered his eyes… he just couldn’t get to sleep!!

Jack sat up again with a sigh. “This is not funny.” He stated grumpily out to the universe which was probably laughing at him.

Holly sat back and watched Jack sympathetically. She shrugged but didn’t say anything.

Jack looked at her but got up and started to pace, his body was so heavy it was ridiculous and he just wanted to lay back down. Instead he started doing jogging laps around the field, maybe he just wasn’t exhausted enough? He remained within sight of Holly but he figured that if this place was anything like the mushroom forest then he wouldn’t be able to go anywhere until he’d finished whatever it was he was supposed to finish here.

On his fifth go around the field he ran back over to Holly and threw himself down to the ground in an uncoordinated heap.

Although she found her brother’s dramatics amusing, Holly wisely kept her giggles to herself.

Jack was so tired it wasn’t funny. He tossed, he turned, he rolled… he just couldn’t seem to go to sleep. He took off his shirt to use it as a pillow (his sister had seen him shirtless before so he wasn’t worried about that) but still to no avail. Now Jack was starting to panic.

If he couldn’t get to sleep… he wouldn’t be able to see Bunny.

He _needed_ his dream Bunny. Jack didn’t know if he would have been able to scale the Mountains of Doubt without him, let alone make it this far. How could he do this without Bunny?

Jack’s distress only served to wake him further. He sat up again, his expression bleak. What was he going to do? He didn’t just _want_ to sleep anymore. He felt as though he needed it. _He needed his Bunny!_ And he didn’t care if it was weak of him to feel that way.

“Jack, what’s wrong?” Holly asked slowly, wondering at the stricken expression on her big brother’s face.

Jack turned to her. “I…” He couldn’t explain it. He didn’t know how to explain it. “I can’t sleep.” He answered in a small voice, with wide, wet eyes. “ _I can’t sleep!_ ” He whispered harshly.

Holly moved over next to Jack, she didn’t understand why this was upsetting him so much but… She’d seen the peaceful look on Jack’s face while he slept. He must have had very pleasant dreams. If that’s what he needed to help him through these trials, then who was she to judge? “Alright, lie down, use your pillow.”

Jack did as he was told, lying back once more, using his shirt as a pillow.

“That’s it.” Holly encouraged, using her ‘mother’ voice. The same tone of voice she’d used to help her own children sleep back when she was alive. “Get as comfortable as you can.”

Jack curled over, his back was facing Holly as he lied on his side. He was curled over, slightly defensively, with his arms held close to his chest. He was trying to hold his panic in, but he couldn’t deny it to himself. He was scared… Terrified of not having Bunny here with him. He’d keep fighting for Bunny, dreams or no, but they made it easier to keep going. They stopped his heart from breaking even as the challenges sought to break his body. Or rather, his Self.

“There, try and control your breathing. Keep calm and think about happy things, places you want to see, people you want to meet.” Holly continued as she began to lightly rub her hand up and down Jack’s back in long, comforting motions. She kept talking, slowly, softly. Not really saying much but repeating the same phrases over and over. Be happy, be calm, have good dreams.

Jack listened to her voice and let it lull him. He was still awake but now he was significantly calmer. He managed to fade into a grey kind of stupor, the point right before sleep. But he couldn’t seem to get any further. They spent hours lying together, Holly never wavered. It could have even been days. Jack couldn’t tell, but he couldn’t sleep either.

“Keep your eyes closed,” Holly continued, “And think of all the nice dreams you want to have.”

Jack opened his eyes and turned over to look up at Holly. “That’s it!” He cried out.

“What’s what?” Holly asked her overtired brother bemusedly.

“Dreams!” He announced as though that single word explained everything.

“Ok?” Holly was confused.

Jack sat up, “The Piece! The one here! I think it’s Dreams!” He counted them off on his fingers, “Determination, Wonder, Memories! Wonder and Memories are things the Guardians protect in children, and so far have been two of my Pieces! I can’t sleep and Sandy’s thing is dreams! I think that might be my next Piece!” Jack was getting excited, “If my theory is right that means that I might only have two more Pieces to go! Dreams and Hope!” It might have been a bit of a stretch but he was very tired and even though he couldn’t describe it exactly it seemed to make perfectly logical sense in his mind.

Holly smiled fondly at Jack’s sudden exuberance, even if he was making very little sense. “You might be right.” She agreed, thinking about the Pieces they’d found. “But how are you going to get your Dreams back?” She asked. She wasn’t allowed to help, not with everything. That would explain why she couldn’t lull Jack to sleep.

Jack lifted a finger, almost as though he were going to announce something before looking confused. He looked at his finger for a moment, frowning, before lowering his hand. “Need sleep.” If he could sleep, he could dream. If he could dream, he’d get his Dreams back. If he had his Dreams back, then he could see Bunny again. How he could dream in the first place without the Piece he had no idea but Death was kind of screwy like that.

Jack got up and continued pacing, shirtless because he had forgotten about it completely. “Sleep, sleep, sleep…” He mumbled. Trying to think of a way to force himself to sleep. Warm milk was out of the question. He didn’t like warm milk anyway. It was too hot. There wasn’t any snow either. He loved falling asleep in a pile of soft snow. No lake for him to drown in. Jack put his head in his hands and let out a loud groan of tired frustration. “Why can’t someone just knock me out or some-?” He stopped and looked up. There was an idea.

Holly stood up, alarmed. “Jack, no!” She tried.

“Jack, yes!” Jack exclaimed with a maniacal cackle and the sort of crazed gleam in his eye that only the massively sleep deprived could wear.

***E. Aster Bunnymund***  
 **four months**

Bunny was dead on his feet. Again. After weeks of no sleep. Again.

Still, he knew that this exhaustion would be worth it because at the end of it he’d get to see Jack again. If it meant a few weeks of tired pain, grief and frustration? For Jack it would always be worth it. The dubious mentality of confusing dreams and reality aside.

He’d finally gotten the tunnel opened and he’d started the excavation of the area itself. Eternal Winter was going to be just as big as Eternal Spring. With just as many plants, a lake, forests, gardens, trees and right in the center… a little house. Just for Jack. It was a lot of work but Jamie was down in the warren almost every waking minute he could spare. He’d told his parents that he was helping a friend with a school project. Aster once again pushed aside the whole ‘kidnapping’ and ‘morality’ issue aside. Jamie was his friend and Aster was glad of the help.

More than that… this was helping Jamie too. The ten-year-old missed Jack so much and it hurt to see that pain in the boy’s eyes, mostly because it mirrored his own. But Jamie was young where Aster was old, he had time to heal and Aster would do what he could to look after Jamie from now on. Because Jack wasn’t here to do it anymore.

Most of the digging was done, just a few final touches and Aster could start the magic that would make it Winter in this part of the warren. He idly hoped that he wasn’t stepping on any winter spirit’s toes by doing this but… he didn’t really care. This was his home and if any of them had a problem with it he’d put them in their place. None of the winter spirits missed Jack. None of them even knew that he was their former king. The seasons had been calmer, more aligned, for so many years… Jack had put so much work into making Winter better for everyone. All on his own. He didn’t take the mantle, but he had shouldered the responsibilities himself.

It hurt Aster to be reminded, everywhere he looked, of he and the other Guardians had failed the winter child.

Aster stood up and brushed off his fur. He was filthy. Again. But he was glad that this part of the job was over, even if his claws felt as though they were about to fall off and there wasn’t as single muscle in his body that didn’t ache. So very worth it. He looked around. It would be winter here soon.

He yawned and began the trek back to his den. He was far too exhausted to risk attempting magic in here now. Winter magic wasn’t something he was terribly good at in the first place. He’d need some time to recover.

And he needed a bath. He was almost brown he was covered in so much filth. He idly wondered if Jack would have liked to see him in his original brown form?

He stumbled into his house on dead feet and somehow managed to plod his way into his bathroom and into the cool spring that served as his bath. Well one of them. He had started to favor the cooler bath since Jack had… left. He groaned as he felt the water move through his fur, his muscles first tensing at the cold and then relaxing as he sighed. Warm water probably would have been better but he preferred the cold.

He leant back gratefully, resting his head against the stones that made up the back of the pool. He closed his eyes.

He opened them again and dove quickly out of the water, ignoring the way the water splashed behind him. He was off as fast as his Pookan legs could carry him, which was quite fast. His fur half dried by the time he reached Jack. Where he always was. In the field by the paint river.

For a second he stood behind Jack, just taking in the sight of his mate.

Jack was standing, shirtless, with his back to Aster. Aster’s eyes couldn’t help but drink their fill. Jack’s skin was smooth and so pale, like alabaster in the sun it shone and Aster barely held himself back. He wanted to reach out, to touch. To see if Jack’s skin was as soft as it looked. His mouth watered slightly and he swallowed, to see if it tasted like frost. But there was another part of him. A terrified part of him that was telling him to turn around. If he saw Jack’s chest… what would he find? 

Would it be whole?

Would it be scarred?

Would it be cracked open and bleeding black sand instead of blood?

He must have made some noise because Jack stiffened slightly and began to turn. Aster wanted to close his eyes, to look away… but he couldn’t. He stood rooted to the spot and absolutely petrified as Jack turned to face him.

Jack turned when he heard an intake of breath behind him. He looked over at Aster and the old Pooka couldn’t help but let out a relieved breath when he saw that Jack’s chest was clear and whole. Not a single drop of black sand in sight.

“Hey there Bun-Bun.” Jack said slowly, walking over to Bunny. “You ok?” His voice was oddly quiet.

Aster was about to say something but he finally looked up at Jack’s face. And noticed the blood trailing down from his forehead and dripping off his chin. “What on earth happened to you?!” He blurted out without thinking.

Jack closed his eyes. “Ow…” He whined. “No yelling, I have a massive headache!” He scolded, using his hands to cover his ears. Jack pulled his hands away from his ears and gave Aster a frown, before noticing that there was now blood on his hands. “Oh, hey, I’m bleeding.” He said nonplussed, apparently having not noticed until now.

Aster’s eye twitched - he felt it. He almost yelled at Jack for being so careless. Almost. But Jack said that it had hurt and he would never intentionally harm Jack. Even if he thought his mate was acting like a flaming galah! He took a breath. “Yes.” He said lowly. “You are. Come back to the den, I’ll get that wound treated.” Now that he looked he could see that Jack had somehow suffered some kind of heavy, blunt trauma to his forehead. It had bruised up quite nicely, swelling so much that it had spit the skin even more than the cut, which Aster assumed came from whatever object had collided with Jack’s head. He took Jack’s unresisting hand in his own and led him back to the den. “So what happened this time? No more mountains I hope.”

Jack snorted, “Nah, just brained myself with a rock. Seemed like a good idea at the time.” Jack giggled. “Holly’s gonna be so mad.” The winter spirit sounded completely unrepentant.

Choosing not to touch on the subject of how much Jack SHOULD REGRET HIS ACTIONS AND NEVER BRAIN HIMSELF AGAIN, because he didn’t think he could talk about that and not yell, Aster asked the next question that popped into his head. “Who’s Holly?” He had to keep Jack talking because the winter spirit looked like he was massively concussed.

“My sister, I remember her now. Such a little Runt but I love her.”

Right. He’d seen Jack’s memories. He guessed that it was influencing the dream. He wondered if Jack really did find his sister in the afterlife? Aster hoped so. Jack must have loved her a lot to save her like he did. “Yeah? It’s good that you found her.”

Jack grinned. “Yeah, she’s my guide. She knows Death. Well now I know Death. He looks like people say he looks.” Jack looked thoughtful for a moment. “But he didn’t smell bad.” He mused.

“Watch yer step.” Aster huffed, amused despite himself at Jack’s concussed ramblings. He helped Jack into the den and guided him to sit down in the sitting room. “I’ll be right back, just getting some ice for your head.”

“Ice…” Jack breathed out longingly. “You have no idea how much I miss the ice. And my staff. But I’m glad you have my staff. It was broken anyway but… it was a good staff.” 

Aster watched Jack for a moment more. “Yeah Jack, it was. It is. I’m taking good care of it now.” Along with Jack’s clothes. They were now Aster’s most prized possessions… even though he could barely bring himself to look at them. “Now wait right there, I’ll be back in a mo’.”

“You live in a hole.” Jack suddenly exclaimed, Aster could hear him talking to himself as he went into the other room to get some medical supplies. “Like a literal hole, not a hole like ‘ya place so messy it’s a hole’ type hole.” Jack giggled. “That’s adorable. You’re a bunny rabbit. That’s also adorable.”

Aster reentered the room.

“You’re so fluffy, when did you get back? No wait… when did you leave?” Jack asked, oddly intense for someone so clearly out of it.

Aster rubbed a hand down his face. “Just, sit still. Let me know if I hurt you.” He knelt down, he’d give Jack some ice but after he’d put some ointment to help with the cut and the swelling. He wasn’t a master healer for nothing.

“Nothing hurts worse than losing you.” Jack said quietly. “Thought I’d lost you again for a minute. I know this isn’t real… but I can’t lose this. I need this. It’s all I have.”

Aster stopped, his eyes closing for a moment as he took in a shuddering breath. He felt tears warming his eyes and he tried to blink them away. “Yeah mate, I know. It’s all I have too.”

Jack reached down and gently tilted Bunny’s face so that their eyes met. “I love you.” Jack said, his eyes a little clearer and his voice surer than before. “There isn’t a thing I wouldn’t do to be with you. I’m doing this all for you and… I’m sorry you had to suffer because of me. If I knew that you returned my feelings… I never would have kissed you in the Workshop,” Aster let out a pained whine but Jack continued, “When I knew that I was going to die.”

Aster let out an involuntary sob, he was shaking and holding onto his composure by a single, frayed thread. “No.” He shook his head and looked back at Jack. “No. I needed that kiss. I need you. You are my mate Jack Frost, and I love you more than anything.”

“Even though I left you?” Jack’s voice was small, frail.

Aster cleared his throat and returned to tending Jack’s wounds. “You didn’t leave me. You’re still here. It’s not much but I have this and I’ll hold onto it forever.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there, long time, sorry again, just busy busy busy me.
> 
> I'm working on a comic now, it's a slice-of-life/comedy about the random shit that happens in my little brother's life, here's the link if anyone's interested - > http://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/curly-fries/list?title_no=96157
> 
> Yes self promotion is annoying, it makes me feel yucky doing it :P I also have a bunch of new links, like fb page, twitter and youtube stuff, all the links are in the comic. So if you ever wanna get in touch with me outside of the archive that would be how :P


	9. FANART

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hopefully fanart but we'll see if it actually loads

[](http://s1255.photobucket.com/user/sumChick42/media/Jackrabbit_zps4eikhzsq.jpg.html)

  
[Jackrabbit](https://artemisarturion.deviantart.com/art/Jackrabbit-698324211) by [ArtemisArturion](https://artemisarturion.deviantart.com/) on [DeviantArt](https://www.deviantart.com)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's Jack and Aster from the last chapter, just a sketch I don't have a lot of time for anything else but I hope you like it anyway :)
> 
> ...
> 
> If it works.
> 
> EDIT - Gah! I can't get it to work, have a link to it on DeviantArt instead!


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